The cost of car insurance in the UK rose 1% in the first quarter, a survey showed on Monday, indicating an easing in the rise of premium seen last year.

Japan's factory output likely staged a strong rebound in March from the previous month's decline, with retail sales probably holding firm on booming inbound tourism and easing worry about weak domestic consumption, a Reuters' poll of 17 analysts found.

China's industrial profits fell in March and slowed gains for the quarter compared to the first two months, official data showed on Saturday, raising doubts about the strength of a recovery for the world's second-biggest economy.

U.S. monthly inflation rose moderately in March, but stubbornly higher costs for housing and utilities suggested the Federal Reserve could keep interest rates elevated for a while.

Oil prices fell in Asian trade on Monday, reversing course from last week’s gains as fears of higher-for-longer U.S. interest rates and a stronger dollar weighed on crude markets. 

The Japanese yen hit its weakest levels since April 1990 on Monday, in trading thinned by a holiday in Japan and attempts by traders to test key levels and stop-loss orders in a nervous, illiquid market.