NEW YORK, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. dollar stayed nearly flat in late trading on Monday, after concluding its weakest week in over a month due to the Fed's dovish stance.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, rose 0.01 percent to 102.5625 in late trading.

Builder confidence in the U.S. market for newly built single-family homes rose 3 points to 37 in December, according to the housing market index data jointly released by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and Wells Fargo.

"With mortgage rates down roughly 50 basis points over the past month, builders are reporting an uptick in traffic as some prospective buyers who previously felt priced out of the market are taking a second look," said NAHB Chairman Alicia Huey. "With the nation facing a considerable housing shortage, boosting new home production is the best way to ease the affordability crisis, expand housing inventory and lower inflation."

U.S. Treasury yields were trending upwards, with the 2-year yield at 4.44 percent, the 5-year yield at 3.95 percent, and the 10-year yield at 3.95 percent, which may limit the downside of the U.S. dollar.

In Germany, the Ifo institute said its business climate index stood at 86.4, which unexpectedly worsened in December. In late New York trading, the euro increased to 1.0916 U.S. dollars from 1.0899 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound decreased to 1.2639 U.S. dollars from 1.2690 dollars in the previous session.

The U.S. dollar bought 142.8940 Japanese yen, higher than 142.1810 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar decreased to 0.8685 Swiss francs from 0.8699 Swiss francs, and it rose to 1.3393 Canadian dollars from 1.3369 Canadian dollars. The U.S. dollar was down to 10.2207 Swedish kronor from 10.2656 Swedish kronor.