Dollar index falls to lowest since Aug 2008

LONDON, Nov 25 - The dollar fell to its lowest in more than a year against a basket of currencies on Wednesday, on expectations U.S. interest rates would stay low for some time.

The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, fell as low as 74.619, or down 0.6 percent on the day <.DXY>. That was the lowest since early August last year.

The dollar also dropped against the Swiss franc to its lowest level since July 2008, falling to 1.0026 franc <CHF=>, according to Reuters data.

"The FOMC meeting minutes gave a green light for an orderly dollar depreciation, on a view that rates will remain low for a long time," said Geoffrey Yu, currency strategist at UBS in London. ((tamawa.desai@thomsonreuters.com; Tel: +44207 542 7018, Reuters Messaging: tamawa.desai.reuters.com@reuters.net))