LONDON (AFX) - The dollar dipped following the release of weaker-than-expected US retail sales for February but the data does not change the US economic recovery picture, economists said. Retail sales rose 0.3 pct in February from the previous month against a forecast for a 0.8 pct rise in February after declining 0.2 pct in January. Niel McKinnon, senior currency strategist at Merrill Lynch said: "I guess there will be some disappointment in response to the figure but the dollar's held up pretty well against the majors." "Looking at the string of economic data we've had so far, while it will certainly be supportive for the bond market intra-day, there is a question mark as to whether the market will just look at these figures in isolation," he added. "It may well have been that the market had gone well ahead of expectations," he added. The strategist added that the euro and the yen failed to derive much benefit from the retail sales numbers. At 1.45 pm, the dollar traded at 0.8743 against the euro, 1.4109 against sterling and 129.48 against the yen compared with 0.8733 and 1.4099 and 129.57 respectively prior to the release.