NEW YORK, June 20 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. dollar weakened against its major rivals in late trading on Thursday after the central bank signaled possible rate cuts later this year.

The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday left the target range for the federal funds rate unchanged at 2.25 percent to 2.5 percent, and opened the door for lowering interest rates in the future, citing increased economic uncertainties.

"In light of these uncertainties and muted inflation pressures, the Committee will closely monitor the implications of incoming information for the economic outlook and will act as appropriate to sustain the expansion," said the Fed's policy-making committee, dropping its commitment to being "patient" in its policy statement.

The remarks came as market participants are pricing in a very high probability that the Fed will cut rates in the near future.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, fell 0.52 percent at 96.6274 in late trading.

In late New York trading, the euro increased to 1.1292 U.S. dollars from 1.1244 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound was up to 1.2699 dollars from 1.2666 U.S. dollars in the previous session. The Australian dollar rose to 0.6923 U.S. dollar from 0.6889 U.S. dollar.

The U.S. dollar bought 107.27 Japanese yen, lower than 107.97 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar was down to 0.9806 Swiss franc from 0.9922 Swiss franc, and it was down to 1.3191 Canadian dollars from 1.3292 Canadian dollars. Enditem

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