NEW YORK, April 12 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. dollar appreciated in late trading on Tuesday as data showed U.S. inflation surged to a four-decade high in March.

       The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, rose 0.36 percent at 100.2950.

       In late New York trading, the euro was down to 1.0834 U.S. dollars from 1.0893 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound fell to 1.3007 dollars from 1.3034 U.S. dollars in the previous session. The Australian dollar increased to 0.7461 U.S. dollar from 0.7431 dollar.

       The U.S. dollar bought 125.28 Japanese yen, lower than 125.45 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar was up to 0.9320 Swiss franc from 0.9311 Swiss franc, and it was up to 1.2634 Canadian dollars from 1.2621 Canadian dollars.

       U.S. Labor Department reported on Tuesday that the nation's consumer price index, a key gauge of inflation, jumped 8.5 percent in March from a year earlier, the largest 12-month increase since the period ending December 1981.

       The red-hot inflation report solidified market expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will raise interest rates aggressively at its upcoming policy meetings, according to experts.