US dollar rises

The US dollar increased against most major currencies as several Federal Reserve officials signalled an interest-rate hike as early as next month.

In late New York trading on Wednesday, the euro fell to $1.1184 from $1.1212 of the previous session, and the British pound dropped to $1.4115 from $1.4201, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Australian dollar went down to $0.7528 from $0.7615.

The US dollar bought 112.41 Japanese yen, the same as the previous session.

The dollar increased to 0.9749 Swiss franc from 0.9730 Swiss franc and inched up to 1.3206 Canadian dollars from 1. 3047 Canadian dollars.

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said on Wednesday that the central bank policy makers should consider raising interest rates at their next meeting in April amid sound inflation outlook. Philadelphia Fed president Patrick Harker also said Tuesday that he would like to see policy makers tightening borrowing costs "a little faster."

The greenback was firmly supported by the officials' hawkish words. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was up 0.43 percent at 96.057 in late trading.