NEW YORK, May 17 -- The U.S. dollar slipped in late trading on Tuesday as risk sentiment improved on the markets, subduing appetite for the safe-haven currency.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, fell 0.79 percent to 103.3620.

In late New York trading, the euro increased to 1.0549 U.S. dollars from 1.0441 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound rose to 1.2481 U.S. dollars from 1.2320 dollars in the previous session. The Australian dollar rose to 0.7014 U.S. dollars from 0.6977 U.S. dollars.

The U.S. dollar bought 129.43 Japanese yen, higher than 129.12 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar was down to 0.9941 Swiss franc from 1.0016 Swiss franc, and it was down to 1.2830 Canadian dollars from 1.2841 Canadian dollars.

The above moves came as risky assets such as equities rallied. Wall Street's major averages traded noticeably higher on Tuesday with the Dow up more than 400 points.

  - Xinhua