FOREX-Dollar clings to gains vs yen, Aussie advances

* Dollar consolidates after bounce vs yen

* Aussie dlr rises ahead of retail sales numbers

SYDNEY, Sept 30 - The U.S. dollar hung onto gains against the yen on Wednesday, staying above 8-month lows hit earlier this week, as traders pared short positions on a view that the greenback's slide was perhaps too fast.

Traders said, while the U.S. dollar's broad downtrend remained intact, some technical adjustments were likely after the sharp moves earlier this week. Also, many were wary about whether Japanese authorities will intervene or not.

Japanese Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii said on Tuesday the government may take action if moves were irregular, backtracking earlier comments that suggested authorities were comfortable with a rising yen.

The greenback inched up to 90.17 yen <JPY=>, from late New York levels of 90.10 yen, having advanced as high as 90.39 on Tuesday. However, it is down around 3 percent this month, having dropped to as low as 88.22 yen earlier this week.

The euro also gained on the yen, rising to 131.61 <EURJPY=R>, from 131.39 yen late on Tuesday, and off a two-month low of 129.75 struck on Monday. The euro <EUR=> also climbed against the dollar, rising to $1.4594, from around $1.4577 late on Tuesday.

"The U.S. dollar will remain under pressure to depreciate while currencies in Asia will tend to rise given improving growth prospects in the region," said Stephen Roberts, economist at Nomura, Sydney.

The rise in Asian currencies has fuelled speculation that their central banks would intervene to cap their gains.

The dollar's recent weakness against the yen had triggered speculation Japanese authorities would intervene, with those views receiving a boost from Fujii's comments last week that currency moves should not be manipulated.

Japan has not intervened in the currency markets since 2004 and many market players doubt the new government, led by the Democratic Party which won elections last month, will depart from the old administration's stance. [ID:nT249408]

Growth-linked currencies advanced, overcoming some weakness after a surprise deterioration in U.S. consumer confidence data saw investors cut bets in risky assets like stocks.

The Australian dollar <AUD=D4> rose to $0.8729, from $0.8705 late in New York, with investors focused on retail sales for August due at 0130 GMT.

An upbeat retail performance would encourage markets to price in earlier rate hikes, and vice versa.

In the U.S. ADP employment report and final second quarter gross domestic product numbers are scheduled for release.