*

Japan avoids technical recession in Q4 -data

*

Investors eye BOJ exit from negative rates next week

*

Focus on U.S. CPI on Tuesday

(Adds new comment, byline, NEW YORK dateline, bullet points;

updates prices)

By Harry Robertson and Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss

LONDON/NEW YORK, March 11 (Reuters) - The yen edged up

for a fourth straight session against the U.S. dollar in choppy

trading on Monday, bolstered by an upward revision to Japan's

growth figures and expectations the Bank of Japan could exit

negative rates at its policy meeting next week.

In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin soared to a fresh record high

above $72,000 underpinned by a surge in inflows into new spot

exchange-traded funds for the digital asset. Hopes that the

Federal Reserve will soon cut interest rates have also lifted

bitcoin, which was last up 5.3% at $72,074.

The dollar was at 147.07 yen, slightly down on the

day.

A growing number of BOJ policymakers are warming to the idea

of ending negative rates at their March 18-19 meeting, sources

told Reuters, amid expectations for hefty pay rises from Japan's

biggest firms. Results of this year's annual "shunto" wage

negotiations are due on Wednesday.

At the same time, an upward revision to Japan's economic

growth last quarter meant the country avoided a technical

recession, adding to the argument the economy could weather

tighter policy.

"Yen remains one of the more volatile and interesting

currencies this year...speculation on the BOJ's movements next

week keep boosting dollar/yen," said Helen Given, FX trader, at

Monex USA in Washington.

"Japan avoiding a recession last year is quite notable as

well and will likely only add fuel to that fire."

The dollar index rose 0.2% to 102.9, not far from the

nearly two-month low of 102.33 reached on Friday when monthly

payrolls figures signalled a cooling U.S. labor market, keeping

the Fed on track to ease policy this year. The data did show

downward revisions to January's blowout number.

"(Fed Chair Jerome) Powell has said time and time again that

the Fed has been looking for softening in the labor market, and

it appears Friday's release - though on the surface quite hot -

might have shown the cracks necessary to move the needle

earlier," Given said.

Traders currently see June as most likely for the first cut,

bets that could be moved by important consumer price index

inflation data on Tuesday.

The euro slipped 0.2% to $1.0920 after jumping as

high as $1.0980 on Friday for the first time since Jan. 12. The

European Central Bank left rates at record highs last Thursday

while cautiously laying the ground to lower them later this

year.

Sterling dropped 1.1% against the dollar to

$1.2817, after pushing to the highest since late July at $1.2890

on Friday amid bets the Bank of England will be slower to cut

rates than the Fed or ECB. The British currency faces a test on

Tuesday with the release of jobs and wage data.

Lee Hardman, currency analyst at Japanese bank MUFG, in a

note to clients said the key data points for currencies this

week are the two U.S. inflation prints - Tuesday's consumer

price index and Thursday's producer price index.

"If inflation surprises to the upside again in February, it

will be harder to judge it as just a bump in the road to slowing

inflation, and provide more of a challenge to market

expectations for the Fed to begin cutting rates in June," he

said.

The Australian dollar was down 0.4% at US$0.6601

after jumping last week as the U.S. dollar fell on the back of

the slowdown in the labor market.