Japan's yen tumbled to a one-month trough against the dollar after mixed data from Japan, as industrial production didn't change in July, missing expectations of 0.7% rise, while housing starts rose 8.9% in the month, beating forecasts of a 7.6% rise.

The Japanese currency last traded at 103.18 against the dollar, after hitting a month low at 103.34, down 0.20% on the day, but the dollar index was nonetheless own 0.08% due to losses against European currencies.

Japan's Nikkei index on the other hand surged nearly one percent, as the weaker yen buoys exporters' balance sheets, while the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index added 0.34% to 1,361.

Crude prices tumbled on Wednesday on oversupply worries, with Brent crude futures down 35 cents, or 0.72% to $48.37 a barrel, while U.S. crude futures shed 20 cents, or 0.43% to hover around $46.15 a barrel.

Investors wait for an array of data later, with crude oil inventories expected to have risen 1.1 million barrels last week, adding to the previous reading's 2.5M increase, which would be negative for oil prices.

U.s. pending home sales are forecast to have risen 0.7% m/m in July, easing besting June's 0.2% growth, which would be positive for the dollar.