New York, Dec 21 (IANS): The US dollar climbed against most major currencies over Federal Reserve's positive remarks about the country's labor market.

In late New York trading on Tuesday, the euro fell to $1.0392 from $1.0405, and the British pound dropped to $1.2361 from $1.2399, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Australian dollar increased to $0.7255 from $0.7245.

The dollar bought 117.71 Japanese yen, higher than 117.36 yen in the previous session.

The dollar inched up to 1.0286 Swiss francs from 1.0268 Swiss francs, and it slipped to 1.3379 Canadian dollars from 1.3412 Canadian dollars. Enditem

Chair of the Federal Reserve Janet Yellen said in a public speech on Monday: "After years of a slow economic recovery, you are entering the strongest job market in nearly a decade," adding that there are also indications that wage growth is picking up.

Analysts said her remarks bolstered market speculation for a tighter pace of rate-hikes next year than previously expected.

Meanwhile, the greenback climbed against the yen after the Bank of Japan (BOJ) left its monetary policy unchanged after the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday.

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six major peers, was up 0.12 per cent at 103.260 in late trading on Tuesday.