NEW YORK, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. dollar strengthened on Wednesday, boosted by long-term U.S. Treasury yields despite Fitch's downgrade of the U.S. sovereign credit rating.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, rose 0.28 percent to 102.5877 in late trading.

Fitch cut the U.S. credit rating from top-notch AAA to AA+ on Tuesday, citing fiscal deterioration.

With Tuesday's decision, Fitch joined S&P in rating the United States one notch below the strongest grade, but Moody's, the other member of the big three American ratings firms, still gave the country its highest assessment.

Two smaller firms, Kroll Bond Rating Agency and DBRS Morningstar, have also maintained AAA ratings on the U.S. government.

Fitch's downgrade raised concerns, but the market reacted calmly, as long-term U.S. Treasury yields gained on Wednesday after strong private employment data and the announcement of the U.S. government's maturing debt refunding.

The U.S. benchmark 10-year Treasury yield advanced to 4.077 percent from 4.048 percent Tuesday.

Investors are also focusing on positive economic data. The U.S. private sector companies added far more jobs than expected in July, pushed higher by a boom in leisure and hospitality jobs, payroll processing firm ADP reported Wednesday.

Job gains for the month came to 324,000, driven by a 201,000 jump in hotels, restaurants, bars and affiliated businesses, which was well above expectation.

In late New York trading, the euro was down to 1.0943 U.S. dollars from 1.0974 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound fell to 1.2721 U.S. dollars from 1.2772 dollars.

The U.S. dollar bought 143.2550 Japanese yen, lower than 143.3900 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar rose to 0.8772 Swiss francs from 0.8755 Swiss francs, and it rose to 1.3342 Canadian dollars from 1.3291 Canadian dollars. The U.S. dollar increased to 10.7123 Swedish Krona from 10.6123 Swedish Krona.