SINGAPORE, Aug 23 Reuters The yen rose on Friday as traders considered comments from Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda, who sought to calm lingering nerves after a surprise rate hike last month, while markets braced for a speech from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

With the spotlight squarely on the central bankers, Ueda appeared first in Japan39;s parliament to explain the rate increase that had rattled investors.

The yen was 0.38 higher at 145.75 per dollar on Friday in choppy trading after Ueda reaffirmed his resolve to raise rates if inflation stayed on course to sustainably hit the 2 target, but warned financial markets remained unstable.

His Ueda comments suggest that market turbulence wont deter the BOJ from considering more rate hikes in the future even if the next move isnt imminent, said Vasu Menon, managing director of investment strategy at OCBC.

As long as the move in the dollaryen is orderly and gradual, this should not rattle global markets as much as it did earlier this month.

Bouts of Japanese interventions and the interest rate hike in July tripped up investors who unwound the popular carry trade, in which traders borrowed yen to finance highyielding assets, yanking the yen away from the 38year lows touched last month.

The move from the BOJ coupled with worries of U.S. recession triggered a massive global selloff in early August, although most markets have recovered since then.

The dollar index , which measures the greenback versus six…