Asian session: The yen gained

The yen gained against the dollar and the euro on Wednesday, after data showed Japan's economy expanded at the fastest pace in a year in the first quarter and some investors pared bets on further stimulus. Japan's economy expanded by an annualised 1.7 percent in January-March, easily beating the median market forecast for a 0.2 percent increase and rebounding from a 1.7 percent contraction in the previous quarter, the Cabinet Office data showed. Many analysts said Japan narrowly dodged recession, defined as two straight quarters of contraction, because of the boost from the extra day in a leap year. The Bank of Japan chose to hold policy steady at its last meeting, but many still believe it will muster additional easing steps as early as next month.

The Australian dollar slipped, giving back some of the previous session's rally on minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) May policy meeting, which encouraged markets to pare back the chances of a cut in interest rates.

EUR/USD: during the Asian session the pair fell to $1.1280

GBP/USD: during the Asian session the pair fell to $1.4430

USD/JPY: during the Asian session the pair traded in the range of Y108.70-40

Based on Reuters materials