Dollar gains after Fed hikes rates for first time since 2006

The U.S. dollar rose modestly against a basket of major currencies on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve hiked benchmark interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade in a widely anticipated move.

The U.S. central bank's policy-setting committee raised the range of its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to between 0.25 percent and 0.50 percent, ending a lengthy debate about whether the economy was strong enough to withstand higher borrowing costs.

"Dollar longs had been scaled back before the announcement," said Vassili Serebriakov, currency strategist at BNP Paribas in New York. He said that was helping the dollar gain.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was last up 0.22 percent at 98.429.

The euro was last down 0.31 percent against the dollar at $1.08985. The dollar was last up 0.44 percent against the yen at 122.200 yen. The dollar was last mostly flat against the franc at 0.99105 franc.