NEW YORK, March 21 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. dollar appreciated in late trading on Monday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell vowed touch action on inflation.

       The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, increased 0.27 percent at 98.4970.

       In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.1019 U.S. dollars from 1.1056 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound decreased to 1.3163 dollars from 1.3184 U.S. dollars in the previous session. The Australian dollar fell to 0.7393 U.S. dollar from 0.7409 dollar.

       The U.S. dollar bought 119.46 Japanese yen, higher than 119.12 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar rose to 0.9335 Swiss franc from 0.9320 Swiss franc, and it fell to 1.2597 Canadian dollars from 1.2600 Canadian dollars.

       Powell said at the National Association for Business Economics on Monday that inflation is "much too high," adding the Fed "will take the necessary steps to ensure a return to price stability."

       Last week, the Fed raised its benchmark interest rate for the first time since 2018 as it seeks to tame the highest U.S. inflation in four decades.