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The dollar rose notably against the yen, hitting a peak of 114.83 yen earlier on Thursday, its strongest level since mid-February. The dollar was last trading at 114.17 yen, down 0.2 percent on the day.

China's factories notched their strongest growth in activity in two years and Japanese firms order books rose in November, masking concern about the protectionist leanings of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and an OPEC-induced oil price rally.

China's official PMI rose to 51.7 in November from October's 51.2, staying above the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis. The index was stronger than economists polled by Reuters had expected and matched a level last seen in July 2014.

But analysts noted a worrying lack of expansion in new export orders for Chinese factories, suggesting the stronger headline number was consequence of demand coming from its frothy property sector, which authorities are trying to cool.

"The strength in PMI numbers is unlikely to be sustained as much of it can be explained by previous stimulus measures," said Julian Evans-Pritchard, an economist at Capital Economics based in Singapore. "We see increased signs of slowdown in domestic economies, particularly in China."

An agreement between oil producer club OPEC and Russia to produce less to drain a global glut sent prices soaring in record trading volumes on Thursday, even as analysts warned other producers will likely top up supply.

The price for Brent crude futures LCOc1, the international benchmark for oil prices, jumped as much as 13percent from below $50 on Wednesday and was at $52.10 per barrel at 0806 GMT, although traders pointed out that part of the jump was down to contract roll-over from January to February for Brent's front-month futures.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose back above $50 briefly before easing to $49.63 a barrel at 0806 GMT, though still up 20 cents from its last settlement.