The dollar firmed against most major currencies on Wednesday as markets awaited the end of a Federal Reserve meeting to see what officials would do to boost US growth. The yen, however, neared a record high against the US currency as worries about the world economy and the approaching end of Japan's fiscal half-year boosted demand. The dollar fell to 76.11 yen, near a 75.94 record low, but clawed back to 76.35 yen during New York trade.

The euro pared earlier losses to trade up 0.1 percent at $1.3708, while sterling hit an eight-month low beneath $1.56 after minutes released by the Bank of England showed it was ready to pump more money into the UK economy. The dollar rose 1 percent to 0.8951 Swiss francs and 0.7 percent to 0.9984 Canadian dollars. The euro rose 0.8 percent to 1.2261 francs.

Copyright Reuters, 2011