Business confidence of Japanese manufacturers retreated in September from a seven-month high, while service firms' sentiment fell to a five-month low, as unyielding cost pressures hit the corporate sector, the Reuters Tankan poll showed.

The dollar climbed close to a 24-year peak against the yen on Wednesday amid a jump in U.S. yields after hotter-than-expected inflation boosted bets for even more aggressive monetary tightening by the Federal Reserve next week.

China's central bank is widely expected to pause its monetary easing efforts and keep the medium-term policy rate steady this month, a Reuters survey showed, as widening policy divergence with the Federal Reserve could put further pressure on the Chinese yuan and risk capital outflows.

Japanese policymakers on Wednesday reiterated their readiness to take "necessary action" against rapid yen moves, in the wake of a slide in the currency triggered by bets the U.S. Federal Reserve would raise interest rates higher and for longer.

Oil prices inched lower on Wednesday on concerns of another U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate hike next week after consumer prices unexpectedly rose in August, outweighing support from a robust OPEC oil demand growth forecast.

China’s yuan fell the most among Asian currencies on Wednesday following a report that the U.S. was considering sanctions against Beijing to deter an invasion of Taiwan, with regional units also pressured by higher-than-expected U.S. inflation data.