* Weak U.S. retail sales, inflation data pressure dollar
* Fed hikes rates, outlines plan to reduce bond holdings
* Australian dollar rises on robust employment figures
* New Zealand dollar skids after GDP growth falls short
TOKYO, June 15 (Reuters) - The dollar nursed losses on Thursday, after weak U.S. inflation data left investors wondering if the Federal Reserve would be able to follow up its latest rate hike with another later this year.
Deepening political turmoil in Washington also weighed on the greenback and U.S. Treasury yields, with the Washington Post reporting that U.S. President Donald Trump is being investigated by special counsel Robert Mueller for possible obstruction of justice.
Also on Wednesday, a prominent Republican was among those shot by a gunman said to be angry with Trump.
The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. currency against a basket of six rivals, was slightly lower on the day at 96.915 though above its overnight low of 96.323 plumbed after downbeat economic figures.
The Fed raised interest rates a quarter percentage point to a target range of 1.00 percent to 1.25 percent on Wednesday, as expected, and gave its first clear outline on its plan to reduce its $4.2-trillion bond portfolio.
But the moves were overshadowed by inflation and retail sales data earlier in the day that fell short of market expectations. The core rate of inflation increased at just 1.7 percent on year, the fourth straight monthly deceleration and the slowest overall pace in two years.
The Fed said a recent softening in inflation was seen as transitory, but the latest tepid price readings made investors question its view that the U.S. economy is continuing to improve.
Against its Japanese counterpart, the dollar shrugged off earlier losses and was flat at 109.54 yen, above Wednesday's eight-week low of 108.81 yen.
The euro was also unchanged at $1.1217, below a seven-month peak of $1.1296 scaled overnight.
U.S. 10-year Treasury yields were last at 2.134 percent, below their U.S. close of 2.138 percent. They fell as low as 2.103 percent following the downbeat data, their lowest since Nov. 10.
The Fed also mapped out a very gradual approach to shrink its $4.2-trillion holdings of Treasury- and mortgage-backed assets that would allow it to begin as early as September. The process could start "relatively soon," Fed Chair Janet Yellen said.
"There is a lot to digest, and even some apparently conflicting signals, such as the fact that the Fed revised its own inflation outlook slightly down and yet kept its intention to raise rates again this year," said Mitsuo Imaizumi, Tokyo-based chief foreign exchange strategist for Daiwa Securities.