#Business #stocks #investment #commodities #Asia #US #trade
Asian stocks were weaker early on Monday, as Wall Street continued to decline and the G20 dropped a pledge to avoid trade protectionism. Financial leaders from the world’s biggest economies reiterated their warnings against competitive devaluations and disorderly foreign exchange markets at the meeting in the German town of Baden-Baden over the weekend.
On one side leaders such as Shinzo Abe (Japanese Prime Minister) and Angela Merkel (German Chancellor) publicly supported free trade, while on the other side Donald Trump (U.S. President) has made a protectionist stance. Leaders fear that such a stance from the United States, if continued, might spread to other countries, leading a global shift towards protectionism.
Oil prices continued their downward trend as doubts grew about the effectiveness of OPEC cuts in containing a supply glut as U.S. inventories continue to climb. U.S. crude fell 0.6 percent to $48.50 a barrel.
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