1st LD Writethru: U.S. dollar mixed after Fed minutes

The U.S. dollar traded mixed against other major currencies on Wednesday as newly-released Federal Reserve minutes showed it is unlikely for the central bank to raise interest rates in June.

According to the minutes from the Fed April policy meeting, most participants expressed concerns about the downbeat U.S. economic data in the first quarter. Meanwhile, they pointed out that "economic growth would return to a moderate pace over the rest of this year" and that labor market conditions would improve.

"Many participants, however, thought it is unlikely that the data available in June would provide sufficient confirmation that the conditions for raising (interest rates) had been satisfied," said the minutes.

Ellen Zentner, chief U.S. economist of Morgan Stanley, said in a report that "The minutes, coupled with recent Fed rhetoric, suggest that policymakers by and large have not shied away from the intent to hike rates this year, though they have become less certain about which meeting it will occur."

Investors were awaiting Fed Chair Janet Yellen's speech on the U.S. economic outlook Friday to get more clues about whether she believes the economy would turn around after the first-quarter lackluster performance.

In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.1118 dollars from 1.1153 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound rose to 1.5548 dollars from 1.5497 dollars in the previous session. The Australian dollar went down to 0.7900 dollars from 0.7916 dollars.

The U.S. dollar bought 121.16 Japanese yen, higher than 120.71 yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar dropped to 0.9353 Swiss francs from 0.9370 Swiss francs, and it decreased to 1.2188 Canadian dollars from 1.2221 Canadian dollars. Endite