NEW YORK, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. dollar firmed on Tuesday after Moody's downgraded the ratings of several small to mid-sized U.S. banks and German inflation slowed down in July.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, rose 0.47 percent to 102.5205 in late trading.

While investors anticipate the U.S. inflation report for July to show resilience, some relatively hawkish comments from a couple of Federal Reserve officials on Monday lifted the U.S. dollar yields.

Additional interest rate hikes would likely be needed to lower inflation to the U.S. Fed's 2 percent target, Fed Governor Michelle Bowman said on Monday.

Separately, Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams noted that policy would need "to be kept restrictive for some time" and was open to further hikes if warranted.

Meanwhile, Moody's late on Monday cut the credit ratings of several small to mid-sized U.S. banks and said it may downgrade some of the nation's biggest lenders.

The rating agency warned that the banking sector's credit strength will likely be tested by funding risks and weaker profitability.

German inflation eased in July, the German federal statistics office said on Tuesday, confirming its consumer prices preliminary data of 6.5 percent increase in July, following a 6.8 percent increase in June.

U.S. and European bond yields fell, reversing some of the increases seen over the last week.

In late New York trading, the euro was down to 1.0960 U.S. dollars from 1.1007 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound fell to 1.2746 U.S. dollars from 1.2784 dollars.

The U.S. dollar bought 143.3690 Japanese yen, higher than 142.4180 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar was up to 0.8756 Swiss francs from 0.8730 Swiss francs, and it was up to 1.3416 Canadian dollars from 1.3364 Canadian dollars. The U.S. dollar rose to 10.7000 Swedish Krona from 10.5779 Swedish Krona.