The U. S. dollar took a plunge against other currencies of the world on Thursday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke hinted that the central bank's stimulus program would continue for the foreseeable future.

Speaking at a conference in Boston, Mr. Bernanke said that "highly accommodative monetary policy for the foreseeable future is what's needed for the U. S. economy."

A few weeks back, the chief of the U. S. central bank had said that the Fed's highly accommodative monetary policy or bond-buying program, which was launched in wake of global economic crisis to boost economic activity, might be rolled back before the end of current if economic activity showed improvement.

That announcement had provided an unprecedented strength to the U. S. dollar against other currencies of the world. But, Mr. Bernanke's most recent comments stole that shine from the American currency.

After Mr. Bernanke's Thursday comments, the Australian dollar jumped as high as US$0.9307, it highest level in two weeks. On Wednesday, the Australian dollar had closed at US$0.9200.

The Indian rupee also headed for its first gain since May. After slipped to its record low of 61.21 against the U. S. dollar on July 8, the Indian currency gained 0.6 per cent to 59.89 per U. S. dollar in early trade on Friday.