NEW YORK, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. dollar strengthened in late trading on Wednesday as market participants digested the latest minutes from the Federal Reserve.

       The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, increased 0.19 percent to 102.0550.

       In late New York trading, the euro decreased to 1.0691 U.S. dollars from 1.0727 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound rose to 1.2585 dollars from 1.2515 U.S. dollars in the previous session. The Australian dollar was up to 0.7093 U.S. dollar from 0.7063 dollar.

       The U.S. dollar bought 127.31 Japanese yen, higher than 126.80 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar increased to 0.9615 Swiss franc from 0.9610 Swiss franc, and it was down to 1.2809 Canadian dollars from 1.2832 Canadian dollars.

       The above market reactions came after the minutes from the Fed's May 3-4 meeting signaled further rate hikes.

       "Most participants judged that 50 basis point increases in the target range would likely be appropriate at the next couple of meetings," the minutes said.

       Earlier this month, the U.S. central bank announced a half-point increase in its benchmark rate, the sharpest rate hike since 2000, in an effort to rein in rampant inflation.