Oil prices steadied on Friday, but were headed for steep weekly losses as concerns over sticky inflation and high interest rates spurred doubts that demand will remain robust this year.
The dollar headed for its largest weekly rise in a month and a half on Friday, helped by surprisingly strong U.S. economic indicators and a hawkish tone in Federal Reserve minutes.
Japan's factory activity crept into expansion for the first time in a year in May, a business survey showed on Thursday, as manufacturing gathered pace after months of weakness.
Singapore's economy grew 2.7% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024, the quickest pace in 18 months, data showed on Thursday as the government said it expected manufacturing and trade-related sectors to improve over the course of 2024.
Several Asian share benchmarks fell on Thursday as markets digested the implications of policymakers in major economies preferring to take a patient approach to monetary easing amid sticky inflation.
Oil prices eased for a fourth straight session on Thursday after the minutes of a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting revealed discussions of a further tightening of interest rates if inflation remained sticky, a move that could hurt oil demand.