NEW YORK, March 20 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. dollar index increased against other major currencies in late trading on Tuesday as the Federal Reserve kicked off its two-day monetary policy meeting.

The Fed is scheduled to announce its rate-hike decision on Wednesday. Market expectations for a March rate-hike are 94.4 percent, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool.

While most market participants expect the Fed to raise rates by 25 basis points, they will also look for clues about whether the central bank will stay on track to hike three times this year or if it expects to further tighten policy.

Investors will also watch closely for new quarterly forecasts from Fed officials due at 2: 00 p.m. (1900 GMT) on Wednesday, followed by a press conference from Jerome Powell, his first as Fed chief.

There was no major economic data due out Tuesday.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, increased 0.66 percent at 90.358 in late trading.

In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.2255 dollars from 1.2353 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound was down to 1.4004 dollars from 1.4043 U.S. dollars in the previous session. The Australian dollar decreased to 0.7684 dollar from 0.7719 dollar.

The U.S. dollar bought 106.44 Japanese yen, higher than 105.94 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar moved up to 0.9553 Swiss franc from 0.9496 Swiss franc, and it rose to 1.3082 Canadian dollars from 1.3057 Canadian dollars. Enditem