NEW YORK, May 26 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. dollar decreased in late trading on Thursday as market participants digested the Federal Reserve's message on interest rate path.

       The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, slid 0.22 percent to 101.8290.

       In late New York trading, the euro increased to 1.0724 U.S. dollars from 1.0691 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound was up to 1.2595 dollars from 1.2585 U.S. dollars in the previous session. The Australian dollar was unchanged at close at 0.7093 U.S. dollar.

       The U.S. dollar bought 127.17 Japanese yen, lower than 127.31 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar decreased to 0.9593 Swiss franc from 0.9615 Swiss franc, and it was down to 1.2772 Canadian dollars from 1.2809 Canadian dollars.

       The Fed's May meeting minutes released on Wednesday signaled further rate hikes in an effort to battle the hottest price pressures in 40 years.

       "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.

       At the May 3-4 meeting, the Fed raised its benchmark interest rate by a half percentage point to a target range of 0.75 to 1 percent, marking the sharpest rate hike since 2000.