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TOKYO, Sept 28 (Reuters) The dollar steadied against the yen on Thursday, clinging to the previous session's gains as traders looked to upcoming data to gauge whether the Federal Reserve's next move will be to cut interest rates.

The dollar has gained buoyancy this week, helped by some upbeat data that provided some reassurance about the outlook for the U.S. economy, analysts said.

''I think there has been some revision to pessimistic views about the U.S. (economy),'' said Toru Umemoto, chief forex strategist for Barclays Capital in Japan.

Umemoto said sentiment for the dollar has been bolstered by the likes of stronger-than-expected consumer confidence data released on Tuesday, but he added that market players would likely remain cautious on the outlook for the economy.

Overall, U.S. data this week has been mixed.

Figures released on Wednesday showed that sales of new homes unexpectedly rose in August after July sales came in much weaker than first thought, while new orders for durable goods declined.

Upcoming economic reports, including a final reading for second-quarter growth on Thursday and a key inflation report on Friday, may give the dollar a clearer direction and provide more clues to investors about the course for U.S. rates.

In early Tokyo trade, the dollar was at 117.45 yen, holding near late U.S. levels on Wednesday, when the dollar rose around 0.4 percent, helped by unwinding of short dollar positions.

The euro edged up to $1.2715, still off its high so far this week around $1.2820.

The dollar showed little initial reaction to comments by Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker, who said the economy was on solid ground, inflation was still a worry, and that he had wanted another rate hike last week to keep prices at bay.

''The question is how are we going to bring about restoring price stability,'' he told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday.

Lacker was the sole dissenter in the central bank's decision last week to hold rates steady at 5.25 percent.

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