Investing.com - The dollar rose to two-week highs against the other major currencies on Thursday, after the Federal Reserve's decision to raise interest rates for the first time in almost a decade boosted optimism over the strength of the U.S. economy.
USD/JPY added 0.15% to 122.40.
At the conclusion of its policy meeting on Wednesday, the Fed raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point to between 0.25% and 0.50%. It was the first rate hike in the U.S. since 2006.
Commenting on the decision, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said that further rate hikes would be gradual and data dependent.
EUR/USD dropped 0.59% to 1.0848.
The German research institute Ifo earlier reported that its Business Climate Index fell to 108.7 this month from a reading of 109.0 in November, below forecasts for 109.0.
Elsewhere, the dollar was higher against the pound and the Swiss franc, with GBP/USD down 0.53% at 1.4920 and with USD/CHF climbing 0.68% to 0.9968.
The pound trimmed some losses after the U.K. Office for National Statistics reported that retail sales increased by 1.7% last month, blowing past forecasts for a gain of 0.5%. Retail sales in October fell by 0.5%, whose figure was revised from a previously reported decline of 0.6%.
Year-on-year, retail sales rose at a rate of 5.0% in November, easily surpassing expectations for a 3.0% gain, after rising at a rate of 4.2% a month earlier.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, jumped by 1.7% last month, above forecasts for a 0.6% increase and following a decline of 0.8% in September.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were weaker, with AUD/USD down 0.41% at 0.7200 and with NZD/USD declining 0.61% to 0.6756.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD rose 0.32% to trade at 1.3826, just below the previous session's more than 11-year peak of 1.3848.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.50% at 98.90, the highest level since December 3.