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TOKYO, June 13 (Reuters) - The dollar hovered near a one-month high against the euro on Tuesday after more Federal Reserve officials talked tough on fighting inflation, reinforcing expectations for another interest rate rise later this month.

Cleveland Fed President Sandra Pianalto said that current core consumer prices exceeded her ''comfort level'' if sustained, driving home the central bank's message that it will keep raising rates if necessary to keep inflationary pressures contained.

A slew of Fed officials have made clear their discomfort with current inflation levels and have convinced investors that the Fed will lift rates for a 17th straight time to 5.25 percent at its two-day meeting ending June 29.

With the dollar set to widen its yield advantage over major currencies, the comments have prompted investors to pare back their massive bets against the U.S. currency.

The dollar has also benefitted from investors fleeing a range of risky assets, from stocks to commodities, on mounting fears the Fed's credit tightening will cause a sharp U.S. economic slowdown later in the year.

''The sentiment of risk aversion is still all over the world,'' said Kikuko Takeda, currency strategist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ. ''The dollar has restored its role as a flight-to-quality currency.'' Worries about an end to the Fed rate increases and concerns that Washington wants a weaker currency to rein in the huge U.S.

trade deficit had conspired to drive the dollar to one-year lows against the single currency just last week.

The unwinding of huge positions favouring the euro was expected to lend the dollar more support in the near-term.

Data late last week showed speculators in the International Monetary Market built up a record long euro position of nearly 90,000 contracts.

Comments from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke that China would be well served by a more flexible exchange rate had little immediate impact.

Bernanke, answering questions after a speech late on Monday, also said the global economy would be better balanced with a more freely traded yuan and higher U.S. savings.

In early Tokyo trade, the dollar changed hands at 114.30 yen, slipping from 114.40 in late New York levels but not far from a six-week high of 114.74 yen struck last week on electronic trading platform EBS.

The euro was little changed at $1.2590, near a one-month low of $1.2565 struck the previous session. Against the yen, the euro was flat near 143.95 yen.

Some traders say the dollar would need to break above 115 yen or through $1.25 to the euro to extend its recovery.

REUTERS AD VC0730