TOKYO, Sept 13 Reuters The dollar was broadly steady ahead of a key U.S. inflation report later on Wednesday, though it rose on the yen as traders further digested comments from Japan39;s top central banker on a possible early exit from its negative interest rate policy.

The U.S. currency advanced around 0.2 to 147.39 against the yen. It has now firmly retraced its biggest oneday percentage rise in two months that was made on Monday following remarks from Bank of Japan BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda over the weekend.

Investors have had more time to consider Ueda39;s comments more carefully, said Alvin Tan, head of Asia FX strategy at RBC Capital Markets.

The statement to our mind was quite a conditional one, Ueda didn39;t promise anything, he said.

Influential ruling party lawmaker Hiroshige Seko on Tuesday also signalled his preference for ultraloose monetary policy, after Ueda39;s comments pushed up the yen and bond yields.

The yen has been under relentless pressure against the dollar as the BOJ remains a dovish outlier among global central banks, especially since the Federal Reserve began its aggressive ratehike cycle in March 2022.

Data released earlier on Wednesday showed Japan39;s annual wholesale inflation slowed in August for an eighth straight month, although at 3.2 it remains above the central bank39;s 2 target.

More broadly, the dollar held firm, though moves were subdued as traders awaited a closely watched U.S. inflation reading due later on Wednesday….