The US dollar was top-heavy against other major currencies in the session here, with concerns over further heavy capital repatriation by Japanese firms capping positive sentiment towards the greenback after the the Federal Open Market Committee's statement overnight, dealers said. The dollar rose overnight on renewed expectations for further Fed interest rates after the FOMC at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting said: "some further policy firming may be needed" to keep risks to growth and price stability in balance. However the continued repatriation of funds by Japanese firms' with overseas operations has limited the dollar's gains in Asian trade, Aozora Bank foreign exchange dealer Kazuhiro Nishina said. This activity is expected to continue through to the end of the current fiscal year on March 31. "Also the continued unwinding of yen-carry positions on high-yielding currencies further weighed on the top-side of the dollar," Nishina said. In yen carry trades, investors raise funds in Japan, where the funding cost is effectively zero, and re-invest them in high-yielding currencies such as the New Zealand and Australian dollars. "Looking at today's movement, it seems that the FOMC statement was not enough to dispel the view that US interest rates will move out of their rising cycle sooner or later," Nishina said. At 12.25 pm Tokyo (0325 GMT), the dollar was at 117.86 yen from 117.82 in Sydney and 117.94 in New York late yesterday, while the euro was quoted at 1.1990 usd, 1.2006 in Sydney and 1.2008 in New York The euro fell back as the Fed's remarks increased expectations for a widening of the interest rate differential between US and European assets. Nishina however noted that the decline is likely to be brief and shallow as the European Central Bank also remains in "rate hiking mode."