Japan's manufacturing activity contracted at the fastest pace in two years in November as demand worsened due to strong inflationary pressures, a business survey showed on Thursday.

British industrial orders weakened a little in November and manufacturers were gloomy about the outlook for the coming months, a survey showed on Thursday.

Core consumer prices in Japan's capital, a leading indicator of nationwide trends, rose at their fastest annual pace in 40 years in November and exceeded the central bank's 2% target for a sixth straight month, signalling broadening inflationary pressure.

The U.S. dollar was steady on Wednesday as investors tempered their risk appetites ahead of the release of minutes of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting that could offer clues on the outlook for inflation and interest rates.

 Oil prices rose further on Wednesday after data indicated that U.S. crude inventories shrank substantially in the past week, although the introduction of new anti-COVID curbs in major Chinese cities put a lid on gains. 

Asian share markets were mostly in positive territory on Wednesday despite rising COVID-19 cases in mainland China leaving investors uncertain over how much the fresh outbreaks could slow the reopening of the world's second-largest economy.