* World shares hit one-week high; Asia gain from dollar pause
* Fed begins two-day policy meeting later on Tuesday
* Bank of Japan maintains policy, economic assessment
* Chinese shares near seven-year high on policy hopes
* Platinum hits 5 1/2-year low as precious metals struggle
By Marc Jones
LONDON, March 17 (Reuters) - The euro gained on Tuesday as the dollar laid low before a two-day meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve where the central bank may edge closer to its first interest rate rise in almost a decade.
Solid gains for Asian markets overnight failed to transfer to Europe where the recent rally in euro zone shares and bonds stalled as the euro notched its first two-day run of gains in three weeks, a disadvantage for the bloc's exporters.
Wall Street was expected to give back around 0.3 percent of Monday's 1.3 percent jump when it resumes, while oil and other commodity markets also remained under heavy pressure from a global supply glut.
Fed policymakers will kick off their two-day meeting later, and many analysts expected them to remove the "patient" reference to rate rises from their policy statement. That would put them a step closer to their first hike since 2006.
Economists polled by Reuters are almost evenly split on whether a rate increase will come in June or later in the year. But more downbeat housing data on Tuesday added to lacklustre U.S. manufacturing and other housing figures on Monday that had fuelled talk that the Fed would remain cautious.
"U.S. data has remained on the weak side, despite tightness in the labour market. This allows the FOMC (Fed) to remove the patience language and remain dovish in the statement tomorrow," said Nick Lawson, a managing director at Deutsche Bank.
"That so much discussion around the economy is still warranted whilst equity price performance marches on toward imperious new highs is clear evidence that assets are out- performing underlying economics."
After weakening to a 12-year low of $1.0457 at the start of the week, the euro had secured a firm foothold back above $1.06 as it hit $1.0620 as U.S. traders began to arrive for the day.
The dollar meanwhile was down against a basket of major currencies as it added to its biggest drop in more than a month on Monday. Benchmark 2- and 10- year U.S. government bond yields also made it six days of declines in the last seven.
COMMODITIES CRUNCHED
Britain's FTSE 100 was the only major index in Europe in positive territory in early afternoon European trading. Wariness over the Fed offset the effects of the bond-buying programme the European Central Bank began last week.