NEW YORK, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. dollar rose against other major currencies in late trading on Friday as the market largely believed that the U.S. Federal Reserves will possibly raise its benchmark interest rates expected in December.
The Fed, as widely expected, kept interest rates unchanged on Thursday after a two-day policy meeting. Yet it is generally believed that the Fed's policy statement implied to likely raise interest rates in December, following its third hike this year in September.
The greenback index saw ups and downs this week due to market expectations on a split U.S. Congress after the midterm elections, which investors believed would undermine GOP-led fiscal stimulus like further tax cuts and financial deregulations.
Outside America, euro was weighed down by the European Commission's Thursday forecast on Italy's budget plan for 2019, saying it would push the deficit to 2.9 percent of gross domestic product next year, rather than the 2.4 percent outlined by Rome.
The commission required Rome to present a new budget with a deadline on Nov. 13. But Rome dismissed the EU forecast, adding that it won't change the plan.
In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.1335 dollars from 1.1356 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound decreased to 1.2975 dollars from 1.3049 U.S. dollars in the previous session. The Australian dollar decreased to 0.7226 dollar from 0.7249 dollar.
The U.S. dollar bought 113.80 Japanese yen, lower than 113.98 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar decreased to 1.0055 Swiss francs from 1.0068 Swiss francs, and it edged up to 1.3210 Canadian dollars from 1.3182 Canadian dollars. Enditem
