The U.S. dollar fell against major currencies in late New York trading on Wednesday as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke hinted at further monetary easing to help stimulate economic recovery.
Bernanke on Wednesday said the Federal Reserve is considering possible ways to stimulate economic growth as the current economic recovery is still sluggish. Investors interpreted his words as a hint of another round of quantitative easing, which may pour large amount of liquidity into the markets.
The expectation weighed on the dollar on Wednesday's trading. The dollar index lost 0.77 percent to 75.22.
Meanwhile, euro was still under pressure as the rating agency Moody's downgraded Ireland's government bond ratings to junk territory on Tuesday, raising investors' concerns about European debt problems.
In late Wednesday trading, the dollar bought 78.99 yen, comparing with 79.43 yen late Tuesday, and the euro rose to 1.4151 dollars from 1.4035.
The British pound also rose to 1.6110 dollars from 1.5939. The dollar fell from 0.8299 Swiss francs to 0.8199, and also fell to 0. 9588 Canadian dollars from 0.9637.
