* Fed minutes show no agreement on near-term hike
* Dollar index touches lowest since June 24
* No sign Japan investors ready to buy dollar on dips
* Sterling eyes UK retail sales data (Updates prices)
By Hideyuki Sano and Masayuki Kitano
TOKYO/SINGAPORE, Aug 18 (Reuters) - The dollar hit a seven-week low against a basket of major currencies on Thursday, after minutes from the Federal Reserve's July meeting showed policy committee members opposed to a near-term rate hike outnumbered those who wanted one.
The minutes released on Wednesday showed "several" policymakers said a slowdown in the future pace of hiring would argue against a near-term hike even as members of the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee were generally upbeat about the U.S. economic outlook. outnumbered board members who anticipated that economic conditions would soon warrant tightening policy.
The minutes disappointed those who had bet that the Fed could be more hawkish, after New York Fed chief William Dudley said on Tuesday that the Fed could possibly raise U.S. interest rates as soon as September. dollar's index against a basket of six major currencies .DXY =USD touched a low of 94.385, its weakest level since June 24. The dollar index last stood at 94.627, having lost 1.1 percent so far this week.
The yen JPY= edged up 0.2 percent to 100.10 per dollar. The yen rose as high as 99.645 at one point, nearing a seven-week peak of 99.55 to the dollar set on Tuesday.
A break there would open the way for the yen to test its 2 1/2 year high of 99.00 to the dollar touched on June 24 in the wake of Britain's EU referendum results.
The dollar will probably trade in a 99 yen to 102 yen range for a while, said Satoshi Okagawa, senior global markets analyst for Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Singapore.
"But if the dollar breaks below 99 yen, the market will enter its next phase," he said, adding that forthcoming U.S. economic data or comments from Federal Reserve officials could provide the impetus for such dollar-selling.
One disappointment for dollar bulls was the lack of dollar buying by Japanese institutional investors, a trader at a North American bank said.
"People had been speculating that Japanese investors could remove currency hedging on their foreign bond investment because of recent rise in hedging costs and the yen has risen considerably. But there is no sign of such moves at all," the trader said.
As the yen rose, Japan's top currency diplomat repeated a warning to investors against pushing up the yen too fast, saying on Thursday that Japan will act appropriately if there are any excessive moves in the forex market. yen pared some of its gains following media reports that Japan's Ministry of Finance, Financial Services Agency and the Bank of Japan will hold a meeting at 0450 GMT. euro hit a seven-week high of $1.13285 EUR= and last traded at $1.1301, up 0.1 percent on the day.
Sterling held steady at $1.3043 GBP=D3 . The next focus for the pound is UK retail sales data due at 0830 GMT. The data is expected to show a 0.2 percent rise in July after a sharp fall in June. ECONGB
Earlier this week, sterling had threatened to test a 31-year low of $1.2798 set in July, dogged by worries that forthcoming UK data could provide the first proof of economic damage from the Brexit vote in June.