Infections are delivering a fresh kick in the teeth for many small businesses in China's central city of Wuhan, despite the easing of most stringent curbs last week.
The dollar climbed on Monday after data on Friday showed U.S. producer prices had risen more than expected last month, pointing to persistent inflationary pressures and a chance the Federal Reserve would keep interest rates higher for longer.
Most Asian stock markets retreated on Monday as investors pivoted out of risk-heavy assets ahead of more signals on U.S. monetary policy this week, while rising COVID-19 cases in China dampened optimism over an economic reopening in the country.
Oil prices rose slightly on Monday as a delay in the resumption of a key Canada-U.S. oil pipeline pointed to some tightening in supply, although caution ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting and key inflation data due this week limited gains.
China's factory-gate prices showed an annual fall for a second month in November while consumer inflation slowed, indicating weak activity and soft demand in an economy that has been held back by tough pandemic controls.
Japan's November wholesale prices rose 9.3% from a year earlier, data showed on Monday, a rate of increase that was almost unchanged from the previous month and showed initial signs of an inflation peak amid easing global commodity prices.