* Dollar slips, euro gains
    * U.S. retail sales strong 
    * Investors watch developments in Ukraine

 
    By Caroline Valetkevitch
    NEW YORK, Feb 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar index was down on Wednesday, hitting its lowest level since
Friday after minutes from the last U.S. Federal Reserve meeting suggested policymakers are not set on a
particular pace of interest rate hikes.
    According to the January meeting minutes released on Wednesday, Fed officials last month agreed that,
with inflation widening its grip on the economy and employment strong, it was time to tighten monetary
policy, but also that decisions would depend on a meeting-by-meeting analysis of data.
    Strategists said the minutes suggested policymakers may not be as hawkish as investors feared.
    "Members were not as aggressive as some had expected, which is being reflected in the modest sell-off of
the dollar," said John Doyle, vice president of dealing at Monex USA in Washington. 
    "We are taking these minutes with a grain of salt anyway, as the meeting happened before the recent CPI
and PPI data, which were considerably higher than forecast."
    Earlier this week, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard reiterated calls for a faster pace of Fed rate
hikes, and stronger-than-expected U.S. economic data including Wednesday's U.S. retail sales data have
helped to underscore that view. 
    Those expectations have helped to give support to the dollar in recent sessions.
    At the Fed's Jan. 25-26 meeting, policymakers agreed that it would "soon be appropriate" to raise the
Fed's benchmark overnight interest rate from its near-zero level.
    The dollar index was last down 0.3%, while the euro was up 0.2% at $1.1383. The U.S.
dollar was down 0.4% against the Swiss franc and down 0.2% against the Japanese yen. 
    On the geopolitical front, the United States and NATO said Russia was still building up troops around
Ukraine on Wednesday despite Moscow's insistence it was pulling back. 
    The Russian defense ministry said its forces were pulling back after exercises in southern and western
military districts near Ukraine. The Russian rouble strengthened 0.73% versus the greenback to 75.14
per dollar. 
    Oil prices rallied earlier, and the Canadian dollar rose 0.33% versus the greenback to 1.27 per
dollar.
    Sterling was last trading at $1.3593, up 0.44% on the day. Data earlier showed UK inflation hit a
nearly 30-year high of 5.5%.
    The Bank of England has already raised interest rates twice since December, and financial markets expect
a further rate rise on March 17 after the BoE's next meeting.
    In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin was down 0.7% at $44,271.
    ========================================================
    Currency bid prices at 3:28PM (2028 GMT)
 Description      RIC         Last           U.S. Close  Pct Change     YTD Pct       High Bid    Low Bid
                                              Previous                   Change                   
                                              Session                                             
 Dollar index                 95.7290        96.0070     -0.28%         0.069%        +96.0640    +95.6770
 Euro/Dollar                  $1.1383        $1.1359     +0.22%         +0.14%        +$1.1396    +$1.1345
 Dollar/Yen                   115.4000       115.5950    -0.15%         +0.26%        +115.7800   +115.3550
 Euro/Yen                     131.37         131.28      +0.07%         +0.81%        +131.9000   +131.1200
 Dollar/Swiss                 0.9213         0.9253      -0.44%         +1.00%        +0.9260     +0.9208
 Sterling/Dollar              $1.3593        $1.3542     +0.39%         +0.52%        +$1.3600    +$1.3532
 Dollar/Canadian              1.2681         1.2717      -0.27%         +0.30%        +1.2725     +1.2665
 Aussie/Dollar                $0.7202        $0.7151     +0.69%         -0.94%        +$0.7205    +$0.7144
 Euro/Swiss                   1.0487         1.0509      -0.21%         +1.14%        +1.0549     +1.0484
 Euro/Sterling                0.8373         0.8388      -0.18%         -0.32%        +0.8402     +0.8366
 NZ                           $0.6687        $0.6639     +0.74%         -2.29%        +$0.6691    +$0.6636
 Dollar/Dollar                                                                                    
 Dollar/Norway                8.8660         8.9025      -0.43%         +0.62%        +8.9120     +8.8575
 Euro/Norway                  10.0949        10.1061     -0.11%         +0.83%        +10.1447    +10.0896
 Dollar/Sweden                9.2631         9.2840      +0.04%         +2.72%        +9.3155     +9.2465
 Euro/Sweden                  10.5450        10.5408     +0.04%         +3.04%        +10.5841    +10.5228
 


    
 (Additional reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss and Elizabeth Howcroft; Editing by David Holmes, Barbara
Lewis, Christina Fincher and Jonathan Oatis)