* Yields up slightly ahead of Warsh's first Fed meeting

* Strong retail sales report shows economy still rolling

* More data coming later on Wednesday

NEW YORK, June 17 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury yields were

slightly higher on Wednesday, as the May retail sales report was

stronger than expected and investors looked ahead to Wednesday's

debut appearance by Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh.

The 10-year Treasury yield was up 1 basis point

at 4.435% and the 2-year yield, which is most

sensitive to the market's expectations for Fed rate action, was

up 2 basis points to 4.06%.

Retail sales jumped 0.9% last month after a downwardly

revised 0.4% gain in April, the Commerce Department's Census

Bureau said on Wednesday.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales,

which are mostly goods and are not adjusted for inflation,

rising 0.5% after a previously reported 0.5% increase in April.

Some of the rise in sales last month reflected higher

gasoline prices, which lifted receipts at service

stations. Gasoline prices were driven to four-year highs by

disruption linked to the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.

They have since retreated, with the national retail average

slipping below $4 a gallon this week for the first time since

April.

Retail sales excluding automobiles, gasoline, building

materials and food services increased 0.7% in May after an

unrevised 0.5% advance in April. These core retail sales

correspond most closely with the consumer spending component of

gross domestic product.

Much of the day's trading focus will be on the Federal Open

Market Committee statement due out at 2 p.m. after the

conclusion of the first meeting chaired by Warsh, and the

subsequent press conference.

With data showing strong U.S. hiring, a relatively low 4.3%

unemployment rate, and inflation well ‌above the U.S. central

bank's 2% target, many analysts anticipate the Fed will hold

rates steady while removing language from its policy statement

about "additional adjustments" to its benchmark interest rate.

The reference has been used to indicate likely future decreases

in borrowing costs.

"Attention will rest squarely on Chair Warsh's debut press

conference, and there is a high degree of uncertainty

surrounding his communications given his brief media appearances

thus far, the recent hawkish shift in the Committee, and his own

views on reducing forward guidance," said JPMorgan analysts Jay

Barry and Jason Hunter.

"We think it is possible the Committee under Warsh trims the

policy statement further, but we doubt this will be done at

Warsh's inaugural meeting."

Investors anticipate the central bank's policy-setting

Federal Open Market Committee will deliver a

quarter-percentage-point rate increase in December.

Markets will also watch for other data on Wednesday, with

the Commerce Department's Census Bureau releasing business

inventories for April and the National Association of Realtors

reporting pending home sales for May.