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By Bloomberg

The dollar gained for a second day, retracing losses since minutes of the Federal Reserve's most recent meeting showed policy makers are concerned the U.S. may be at risk from a worldwide slowdown.

The currency rose against most of its 16 major peers. Japan's currency has risen this week versus all but two of its most-traded counterparts as European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said there were indications the region's economy is losing momentum, boosting demand for haven assets. Australia's dollar fell for a second day after a government report showed home loans unexpectedly dropped in August.

"The dollar has regained its strength, recouped all the declines post the minutes," said Peter Dragicevich, a currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in London. "It supports the medium-term story that the dollar is going to continue to rally. The risk aversion that has run through the market in the past 24 hours is just another supportive factor for the dollar."

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, which tracks the greenback against 10 major currencies, rose 0.2 percent to 1,067.45 at 10:10 a.m. London time.

The dollar rose 0.1 percent to 107.96 yen, paring this week's decline to 1.6 percent, the first weekly drop since the period ended Aug. 8. It strengthened 0.2 percent to $1.2670 per euro. The yen was at 136.77 against the 18-nation shared currency from 136.85 yesterday.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index of shares slid 1.6 percent after the Standard & Poor's 500 Index slumped 2.1 percent in New York yesterday, the biggest decline since April.

A number of Federal Open Market Committee participants said the U.S. expansion "might be slower than they expected if foreign economic growth came in weaker than anticipated," according to minutes of the Sept. 16-17 meeting on Oct. 8.