The dollar was broadly steady on Wednesday, keeping the yen close to a 34-year low after comments from Federal Reserve officials, including Chairman Jerome Powell, suggested interest rates would likely stay higher for longer.

Top U.S. central bank officials, including Powell, declined on Tuesday to offer any guidance on when interest rates might be cut, saying instead that monetary policy tightening should continue for longer, dashing investors' hopes for significant easing this year.

The comments come on the heels of a string of data in recent weeks that has highlighted the strength of the US economy alongside persistent inflation.

At this time, given the strength of the labor market and the progress on inflation to date, it is appropriate to allow more time for restrictive policy to work, and to let the changing data and expectations guide us, Powell said at a forum in Washington.

The dollar was broadly steady, with the euro at $1.062 in Asian trade, not far from a 5-1/2-month low of $1.06013 touched on Tuesday. Against a basket of currencies, the dollar was last at 106.33, just below a five-month peak of 106.51 touched on Tuesday.

Powell's comments crushed any lingering expectations that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates in the near term.

Traders now expect 41 basis points of cuts in 2024, much lower than the 160 basis points expected at the start of the year.

Comments that interest rates will remain high for a longer period of time helped push Treasury yields higher.

The yen, which is highly sensitive to U.S. bond yields, remained stuck at levels last seen in 1990, with the Japanese currency approaching the 155 level against the dollar that traders fear could prompt intervention by Japanese authorities.

The yen was last trading at 154.65 per dollar on Wednesday, after touching a 34-year low of 154.79 in the previous session. The Japanese currency has fallen about 9 percent against the dollar this year.

The last time Japan intervened in the currency market was in 2022, when it spent an estimated $60 billion to defend the yen.

Among other currencies, the pound was last at $1.2425, up 0.01 percent on the day but still close to a five-month low of $1.24055 touched on Tuesday.

The Australian dollar rose 0.12 to $0.641, while the New Zealand dollar rose 0.22 to $0.589.