The dollar stayed within striking distance of a fresh two-year high against the yen on Wednesday, keeping gains made on data that reinforced expectations U.S. interest rates will keep rising in the near term. The dollar had rebounded on Tuesday as readings for U.S. durable goods orders and new home sales in October and consumer сonfidence in November all came in stronger than expected. The Federal Reserve is widely expected to bump up its key rate by 25 basis points at each of its policy meetings in December and January, taking the rate to 4.5 percent. The yield advantage has helped the dollar to soar to a 27-month high just below 120 yen and a two-year peak of $1.1640 per euro this month. Analysts said the dollar could pierce the key 120 yen level later in the day if revised third-quarter growth data and a key U.S. index of manufacturing activity in November provide further evidence of economic strength. The market was also awaiting the Fed's Beige Book of regional economic conditions to see if the tone matches the minutes from the central bank's last policy meeting, which suggested the Fed was less aggressive on the outlook for further rate hikes. ''The dollar faces strong demand with its downside seen limited,'' said a trader at a Japanese bank. ''If the Beige Book's tone is hawkish, the dollar will have a good chance of rallying above 120 yen.'' Traders said 120 yen would be hard to clear, however, given a large amount of option-related orders seen lined up around that level. By 0645 hrs (IST), the dollar was little changed on the day at 119.65 yen, after climbing as high as around 119.80 yen in early Asian trade. It rose 0.7 percent on Tuesday. The euro was little changed at $1.1775, after slipping 0.5 percent the previous day.