The US dollar was trading firmer against the euro and yen in late trade here as traders returned to seek yield advantages ahead of Tuesday's Federal Open Market Committee, dealers said. They said any hawkish tones in the Federal Reserve's accompanying statement will increase US bond yields and provide further support for the US dollar. "Certainly after Friday you have got to start asking questions given the weaker GDP figures in the US and the dollar's rally, it feels likes the market is still fairly short the US dollar," Tricom senior advisor Ashok Sekar said. At 4:10 pm, Sydney (0510 GMT), the euro was at 1.2090 usd from 1.2107 in Sydney morning trade while the dollar was at 117.36 yen from 117.20. Dealers said the clear highlight this trading week is the FOMC's widely expected decision to lift official cash rates to 4.50 pct from 4.25 pct - which would be the 14th consecutive increase. BT Financial chief economist Chris Caton said, in a market note, that most attention will be paid to the accompanying statement from the meeting which prepares the way for Ben Bernanke to take over as chairman from Alan Greenspan. He said as the FOMC will probably want to leave Bernanke some leeway, it is likely that the statement that 'some further measured policy firming is likely to be needed' will be softened to, for example, 'may be needed'. BT's Caton said market probability that the Federal Reserve will increase rates yet again at its March 28 meeting has risen steadily over the past week. He commented this may reflect a belief that Bernanke will err on the side of tightness, if only for credibility reasons.