U.S. job openings dropped to their lowest level in nearly two years in February, suggesting that labor market conditions were finally easing, welcome news for the Federal Reserve as it considers whether to pause its interest rate hiking cycle.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday called for quicker action to resolve several outstanding sovereign debt restructuring cases and urged the International Monetary Fund to press all bilateral creditors to finalize such deals.

Oil prices kept to a small range in early Asian trade on Wednesday as markets digested a slew of weak U.S. economic indicators, while signs of shrinking inventories and a recent OPEC production cut pointed to tighter supply. 

South Korea's consumer inflation eased to a one-year low in March, led by weaker oil prices, but a range of issues including worries about global growth, monetary policy and decisions by major oil producers have clouded the outlook.

Activity at struggling factories across the euro zone fell further last month as consumers feeling the pinch from rising living costs cut back, according to a survey which did show the cost of manufacturing fell for the first time since mid-2020.

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) purchased a record $1 trillion of Japanese government bonds (JGBs) last fiscal year, as it tried to fend off investors' attack on its ultra-low rate policy.