U.S. dollar ticks down

The U.S. dollar fell in late trading on Tuesday.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, decreased 0.13 percent to 97.776 at 15:00. (1900 GMT).

In late New York trading, the euro was up to 1.1741 dollars from 1.1731 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound climbed to 1.3449 dollars from 1.3438 dollars in the previous session.

The U.S. dollar bought 147.87 Japanese yen, lower than 148.64 Japanese yen in the previous session. The U.S. dollar slipped to 0.7961 Swiss francs from 0.7972 Swiss francs, and it rose to 1.3918 Canadian dollars from 1.3914 Canadian dollars. The U.S. dollar was down to 9.4085 Swedish kronor from 9.4146 Swedish kronor.

More than a month ahead of the Chinese New Year, restaurants across China have reported a booming demand for reunion dinners, with popular places already fully reserved.

The family reunion dinners on the eve of the Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, is the most important meal of the year for Chinese people. It has long been an essential part of celebrating the Chinese New Year. This year, the festival falls on Feb 17.

In Taiyuan, capital city of north China's Shanxi Province, one restaurant said all tables for the Chinese New Year's Eve dinner have been reserved.

"We now have 36 private rooms and 13 tables in the hall. The New Year's Eve dinner is fully booked. Many families started reserving as early as November 2025," said Han Huiyan, a restaurant manager.

To meet the demand, many restaurants start to offer takeaway banquet package that can be easily prepared at home, allowing families to enjoy a variety of festive dishes without dining out.

In Ningbo, a city in east China's Zhejiang Province, many popular restaurants said that they are approaching full reservation levels. To reduce peak demand, some restaurants now offer off-peak reunion dinners starting later at night.

"We now offer a 'second round' of New Year's Eve dinners, which start at 19:30. We also offer discount for such New Year's Eve dinners, a promotion of 20 percent off set menus," said Sun Lijuan, a restaurant manager.

In Lianyungang, a city in east China's Jiangsu Province, smaller private rooms of a local restaurant have been nearly sold out, and customized menus and home-delivery services have drawn strong interest.

"This year we have specially launched the Chinese New Year's Eve dinner delivery service. Bookings are very strong and customers really like this option," said Geng Maoran, a restaurant general manager.