Asian shares gained Wednesday, boosted by lower oil prices and regional exporter strength. Oil fell over $3 a barrel overnight, a further slide from a $135 peak last month. A mildly softer yen against the dollar in the wake of comments from the Federal Reserve helped Japanese carmakers like Honda, lifting the benchmark Nikkei. Chairman Ben Bernanke's explicit warning about the inflationary threat from a weak dollar stoked the currency. Elsewhere in the region, firm bank shares in Australia offset losses by commodity-linked firms. In Seoul Korean Air Line gained along with the slide in energy prices. Bucking the trend, Chinese shares fell as China United Telecommunications tumbled in the wake of a restructuring announcement by its Hong Kong-listed affiliate China Unicom, which was also broadly lower in late trading. Dan Sloan reports.