Asian stocks were tense on Monday as investors await U.S. inflation data due to be released later this week. The dollar was up, however, as traders prepared for the showdown.

Most Asian markets fell on Monday as investors braced for a busy week of economic data releases. In China, the Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.9%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell 0.3%. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index dropped 1.4%.

The declines came despite a soft open on Wall Street, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 0.4% and the S&P 500 slipping 0.3%. Investors are concerned that inflation data due to be released later this week could prompt the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates sooner than expected.

The dollar was up on Monday, however, as traders prepared for the showdown. The euro was down 0.2% against the dollar, while the Japanese yen was down 0.1%.

The week ahead will be a crucial one for investors, as economic data releases from the U.S., Europe and Japan will provide further clues about the global economic outlook.