Yen slips on Japan finance minister comments

The yen slipped further Wednesday after Japan's finance minister issued a stern denial over claims Tokyo was manipulating the currency, as traders eye a Fed meeting wrapping up later in the day.

In afternoon Tokyo trade, the dollar gained to 90.92 yen, from 90.72 yen in New York on Tuesday, while the euro fetched 122.63 yen, from 122.42 yen.

The single currency also bought $1.3488 against $1.3493 in US trade.

Japan's currency resumed its months-long slide as Finance Minister Taro Aso said the unit was in a "correction phase" after soaring to record highs around 75 to the dollar in late 2011.

"The comment is nothing new so it can't push up the (dollar/yen) pair like a rocket anymore, but it still has some power left," a senior dealer at a major bank in Tokyo told Dow Jones Newswires.

On Tuesday Japan's economic revitalisation minister Akira Amari said the currency's slide was a result of the new government's drive to boost the deflation-plagued economy through spending and aggressive easing.

That has stoked criticism -- including from German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Angel Gurria, head of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) -- that Tokyo is manipulating its exchange rate policy.

Forex markets were looking to the US central bank as it wraps up a two-day meeting, hoping for more clues as to the state of the economy.

While no major new decisions are expected, the meeting is its first since December when the Fed expanded its bond-buying programme and set explicit unemployment and inflation targets for raising interest rates.

Notes from that meeting showed increasing concerns over inflation, so analysts will be looking for any nuance on its view of the state of the world's biggest economy.

Data from the United States on Tuesday showed consumer confidence was weaker than expected but prices continue to recover in the battered housing market.

The dollar was lower against other Asia-Pacific currencies at 1,082.20 South Korean won from 1,085.95 won on Tuesday, to Tw$29.54 from Tw$29.60, to 53.49 Indian rupees from 53.91 rupees, and 40.66 Philippine pesos from 40.74 pesos.

The greenback also declined to 9,760 Indonesian rupiah from 9,778 rupiah and to Sg$1.2350 from Sg$1.2361.

The Australian dollar bought $1.0469 from $1.0443, while China's yuan fetched 14.61 yen against 14.56 yen.