San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Mary Daly on Saturday sounded a clear warning on the inflationary threat, and signaled that the U.S. central bank may raise interest rates further, and keep them there longer, than has been expected.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged central banks to refrain from monetising excessive government debt.

Asian shares edged up on Monday while bond markets held their breath ahead of an update on the US rate outlook from the world's most powerful central banker, and a jobs report that could decide if the next hike needs to be super-sized.

Oil prices retreated on Monday as a weaker-than-expected GDP forecast from China dented some optimism over a recovery in crude demand this year, while markets also hunkered down before a slew of cues on U.S. monetary policy this week.

The U.S. dollar was broadly lower on Monday as investors awaited testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and looked towards a February jobs report at the end of the week that will likely influence how hawkish the U.S. central bank will be.

Malaysia's manufacturing sector is expected to expand by 4.4 per cent in 2023, faster than the official forecast of 3.9 per cent, said Public Investment Bank Bhd (Public IB).