U.S. dollar firms as central bank meetings loom

NEW YORK, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. dollar strengthened in late trading on Monday as market participants awaited major central banks' policy meetings.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, increased 0.35 percent to 102.2850.

In late New York trading, the euro was down to 1.0846 U.S. dollars from 1.0869 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound decreased to 1.2345 U.S. dollars from 1.2394 dollars in the previous session.

The U.S. dollar bought 130.52 Japanese yen, higher than 129.92 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar climbed to 0.9253 Swiss francs from 0.9212 Swiss francs, and it increased to 1.3383 Canadian dollars from 1.3302 Canadian dollars. The U.S. dollar rose to 10.4040 Swedish Kronor from 10.3066 Swedish Kronor.

Traders braced for a busy week as the U.S. Federal Reserve will kick off its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday and the European Central Bank will meet on Thursday.