Oil prices dropped on Monday, hovering near multi-month lows, as recession fears hurt demand outlook and data pointed to a slow recovery in China's crude imports last month.

The dollar extended it best rally against the yen since mid-June on Monday, buoyed by higher Treasury yields after blockbuster U.S. jobs data lifted expectations for more aggressive Federal Reserve policy tightening.

Asian share markets made a stuttering start on Monday and the dollar held firm after a stunning U.S. payrolls report pushed back against talk of recession but also bolstered the case for more super-sized rate hikes.

The Chinese city of Yiwu in Zhejiang province has suspended some public gatherings and dining at restaurants, closed multiple entertainment venues and locked down some areas to cope with Covid-19 flare-ups, the city government said on Wednesday (Aug 3).

Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Friday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders mostly make their moves, tracking quarterly earnings updates. They also seem cautious in making significant moves ahead of the release of the US Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report later in the day, which could impact the outlook for interest rates. Asian markets ended mostly higher on Thursday.

The dollar struggled to gain a footing on Friday after falling by its sharpest pace in two weeks, as investors remained on tenterhooks ahead of the widely anticipated U.S. jobs data and amid growing worries about a recession.