Tokyo: The dollar weakened against several major currencies, while the wobbly yen was pinned near a two-week low, and the inflation surprise sent Australia's dollar higher on Wednesday. The Australian dollar rose 0.7 percent to $0.7109 after a pickup in inflation raised the risk of rate hikes, making it the sharpest gainer in an Asia session.

According to Qatar News Agency, smaller gains for the New Zealand dollar, sterling, and euro left the dollar a touch lower, at $1.1796 on the euro and $1.3520 against the British pound. The yen stayed under further pressure on Wednesday after dropping 0.8 percent overnight to as weak as 156.28 per dollar, following a report that Japan's prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, raised concerns about additional rate hikes with the Bank of Japan's governor.

The yen hovered around 156 and was last noted at 155.77. The New Zealand dollar gradually rose to $0.5983, while China's yuan extended its sharp Tuesday gains to reach an almost three-year peak of 6.8703.