NEW YORK: The US dollar extended losses against major peers including the euro, Swiss franc, and Japanese yen on Wednesday (Dec 10) after the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates in a widely expected move.

The Fed's decision to lower the benchmark policy rate by a quarter of a percentage point to the 3.50 per cent-3.75 per cent range drew three dissents: Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee and Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid argued that the policy rate should be left unchanged, while Fed Governor Stephen Miran again advocated for a larger half-percentage-point reduction.

The greenback lost ground against peer currencies immediately after the Fed's announcement. The dollar weakened 0.58 per cent against the Swiss franc to 0.801 and was last down 0.4 per cent to 156.24 against the Japanese yen.

The euro was up 0.39 per cent at US$1.167. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, fell 0.38 per cent to 98.84.