NEW YORK, March 19 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. dollar index decreased against other major currencies in late trading on Monday as investors eyed the latest political developments in the White House.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday accused Special Counsel Robert Mueller of hiring "hardened Democrats" to investigate alleged ties between his 2016 presidential campaign and Russia.
Trump's words raised market concerns of another shakeup in the senior ranks of the administration following last week's turmoil.
The president announced to fire State Secretary Rex Tillerson last Tuesday, replacing him with Mike Pompeo, the current chief of Central Intelligence Agency.
On Wednesday, Trump nominated former TV analyst Larry Kudlow to replace Gary Cohn, his top economic adviser that quit over tariff disagreements with Trump.
The euro rose sharply against the U.S. dollar on Monday after media reports said that European Central Bank (ECB) officials were shifting their debate from bond purchases to the expected path of interest rates, reviving bets that the ECB may raise rates sooner than previously thought.
With no major data due on Monday, investors also paid close attention to the upcoming Federal Reserve meeting scheduled on Wednesday. It was widely expected that the central bank would raise interest rates this time.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, fell 0.47 percent at 89.812 in late trading.
In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.2353 U.S. dollars from 1.2284 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound was up to 1.4043 dollars from 1.3939 dollars in the previous session. The Australian dollar increased to 0.7719 dollar from 0.7712 dollar.
The U.S. dollar bought 105.94 Japanese yen, lower than 106.09 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar moved down to 0.9496 Swiss franc from 0.9528 Swiss franc, and it fell to 1.3057 Canadian dollars from 1.3095 Canadian dollars. Enditem
