Investing.com - The dollar pared gains against the yen on Wednesday and rose to session highs against the euro and the pound as concerns over the outlook for global growth supported safe haven demand. During European afternoon trade, the dollar was higher against the yen, with USD/JPY climbing 0.46% to 97.98, off session highs of 98.44. Concerns over the outlook for the global economic recovery mounted after the International Monetary Fund cut its forecast for global growth for 2013 and 2014 on Tuesday. The IMF said continued monetary stimulus by the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan was expected to continue to support growth in the U.S. and Japan, while the euro zone still posed the greatest threat to a recovery in the global economy. Investors were looking ahead to a meeting of finance ministers and central bank heads from the Group of 20 nations on Thursday and Friday, amid speculation over whether Japan will face criticism over the BoJ’s unprecedented easing program. The dollar extended gains against the euro, with EUR/USD losing 0.29% trade at 1.3136. The dollar rose to more than one-week highs against the pound, with GBP/USD dropping 0.72% to 1.5250. Sterling fell against the dollar and the euro after official data showed the U.K. unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to 7.9% last month, from 7.8% in February. Analysts had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged. Average U.K. earnings rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.8% year-on-year in the three months to February, below expectations for a 1.2% increase. The number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell by a seasonally adjusted 7,000 in March, compared to expectations for an increase of 500. Meanwhile, the minutes of the BoE’s April meeting showed that policymakers remained split over monetary policy. Outgoing Governor Mervyn King and two other policymakers backed further monetary easing, while six voted against. The vote to leave interest rates unchanged at 0.5% was unanimous. The dollar pushed higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF rising 0.21% to 0.9246. In Switzerland, a report showed that the ZEW economic expectations index rose to 20.0 in March, from a reading of 2.3 the previous month, amid growing optimism over the economic outlook. The greenback was broadly stronger against its Australian, New Zealand and Canadian counterparts, with AUD/USD down 0.46% to 1.0343, NZD/USD losing 0.25% to trade at 0.8472 and USD/CAD rising 0.39% to 1.0250. Earlier Wednesday, Australia’s Treasurer Wayne Swann criticized European leaders for their focus on “mindless austerity� which he said is acting as a brake on global growth in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.45% to 82.25. The U.S. was to release official data on crude oil stockpiles later in the day, while the Federal Reserve was to produce its beige book.

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