Dollar Falls amid France Rating Concerns, Bernanke Comments

NEW YORK, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. dollar fell against most major currencies in late New York trading on Tuesday as Moody's warned to downgrade France's credit rating and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke implied monetary policy adjustment.

The rating agency Moody's warned that France may lose its triple-A rating due to pressure from its public finances and global financial crisis. The news added investors' concerns about the euro zone debt crisis and weighed on the euro. The shared currency fell against the dollar in early trading on Tuesday.

The Britain's Office for National Statistics reported that consumer prices in Britain rose 5.2 percent in September, up from 4.5 percent in August. The rising inflation raised investors' speculations that the Britain's central bank may consider a tighter monetary policy. The British pound trimmed losses against the dollar in late trading on Tuesday.

Bernanke said on Tuesday that central banks may need to resort to monetary policy to combat asset bubbles, which diminished investors' expectations of further easing monetary policy. The dollar index lost 0.3 percent to 76.91 on Tuesday.

In late Tuesday trading, the dollar bought 76.76 Japanese yen, comparing with 76.82 from late Monday. The euro rose to 1.3747 dollars from 1.3742.

The British pound fell to 1.5734 dollars from 1.5753. The dollar fell from 0.8990 Swiss francs to 0.8981, and also fell to 1. 0162 Canadian dollars from 1.0201.