NEW YORK ? The dollar rose Wednesday against the euro and other key currencies after dipping close to its 15-month low against the single European unit.

At 2200 GMT, the euro was fetching $1.4978 compared with $1.4985 in New York on Tuesday.

The dollar rose to 89.84 yen from 89.82 yen a day earlier.

"After falling within a whisker of its 15-month low against the euro, the dollar changed course and rose aggressively against most of the major currencies, turning profits into losses," said Kathy Lien, director of currency research at Global Forex Trading.

She attributed the greenback's rise to profit-taking as investors locked in gains derived from betting on the rise of relatively risky currencies, such as the euro, against the generally safe-haven dollar.

"The 1.5000 mark has been a tough barrier for the euro to break against the dollar and so far, it has not been able to close above that level in more than two weeks," Lien said.

"The euro dipped as low as 1.4939 from an overnight high of 1.5020, before trading back to around 1.4990 by the close, said analyst Michael Woolfolk of the Bank of New York Mellon.

The currency that dropped the most against the dollar was the British pound.

The pound fell to $1.6572 from 1.6739 a day earlier.

"The British pound fell across the majors following indications that the Bank of England would continue to implement their quantitative easing programs while many other central banks are signaling an end to these programs or are outright raising interest rate," said analyst Terri Belkas of Forex Capital Markets.

"Overall, signs of economic improvement should continue to offer support for the British pound, but as long as the BoE relies on quantitative easing, upside potential for the currency remains limited," she said.

Quantitative easing is a radical stimulus policy that involves flooding the banking system and economy with money, partly through purchases of government debt, to try and boost lending to businesses and individuals.

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in Tokyo Wednesday that a strong dollar was "very important" to the United States, seeking to reassure Asian nations concerned about the greenback's recent slump.

US officials regularly express their backing for a "strong dollar" but have done little to arrest its slide, which many see as necessary to reduce the big US trade deficit.

The dollar has plunged about 15 percent against a basket of six other major currencies from a peak earlier this year, sparking concern among Asian countries which have big holdings of dollars in their foreign exchange reserves.

The dollar's weakness is also bad news for many Asian exporters which are struggling to maintain their competitiveness.

In late New York trade, the dollar was higher at 1.0078 Swiss francs from 1.0074 Swiss francs on Tuesday.