U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Tuesday she was worried that President-elect Donald Trump's plans to levy broad import tariffs could derail progress in quelling inflation and raise costs for households and businesses.

Asia Pacific's economic growth is expected to be slightly lower than the previous projections, as potential policy shifts in the U.S. under incoming President Donald Trump could impact the region's long-term outlook, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Wednesday.

Japan's wholesale inflation accelerated for three straight months as companies continued to pass on rising raw material and labour costs, data showed on Wednesday, keeping the central bank under pressure to raise interest rates again.

In one of their most dovish statements in more than a decade, Chinese leaders signalled on Monday they are ready to deploy whatever stimulus is needed to counter the impact of expected U.S. trade tariffs on next year's economic growth.

The dollar traded close to a two-week high versus the yen on Wednesday ahead of a highly anticipated reading of U.S. inflation that could provide clues on the pace of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.

Oil prices rose slightly in Asian trade on Wednesday amid continued cheer over stimulus measures in top importer China, while traders awaited more cues on the U.S. economy and oil inventories.