U.S. dollar slips, euro rises after ECB rate decision

NEW YORK, July 21 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. dollar fell in late trading on Thursday, while the euro climbed, after the European Central Bank (ECB) delivered a bigger-than-expected rate hike.

The ECB on Thursday raised key interest rates by 50 basis points, the first increase since 2011, in an attempt to cool rampant inflation.

The decision came as a surprise since the ECB flagged in June a 25-basis point increase in July as part of its forward guidance.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, decreased 0.16 percent to 106.9100.

In late New York trading, the euro increased to 1.0198 U.S. dollars from 1.0179 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound fell to 1.1962 U.S. dollars from 1.1967 dollars in the previous session. The Australian dollar increased to 0.6903 U.S. dollars from 0.6886 U.S. dollars.

The U.S. dollar bought 137.65 Japanese yen, lower than 138.25 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar was down to 0.9685 Swiss franc from 0.9719 Swiss franc, and it rose to 1.2893 Canadian dollars from 1.2878 Canadian dollars.