Oil prices extended losses in Asian trade Monday and languished at 17-year lows, with the coronavirus crisis escalating around the world and no end in sight to a vicious price war.

Police with batons and guns have moved in to protect supermarkets on the Italian island of Sicily after reports of looting by locals who could no longer afford food.

Global retailers including Adidas and H&M sparked outrage in Germany on Sunday after announcing they planned to stop paying rent on stores that have been forced to close over the coronavirus outbreak.

Moody's has downgraded South Africa's credit rating to junk status, piling more anguish on an economy  already in recession and battered by Africa's worst coronavirus outbreak.

With streets in major cities empty, and shops and restaurants forced to close due to the coronavirus pandemic, there was a record explosion of Americans filing for unemployment benefits.

G20 nations on Thursday pledged a "united front" in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, and said they were injecting $5 trillion into the global economy to counter the impact of the crisis.

"We are injecting over $5 trillion into the global economy, as part of targeted fiscal policy, economic measures, and guarantee schemes to counteract the social, economic and financial impacts of the pandemic," the leaders said in a statement after an emergency online summit.

Oil prices slipped back in Asian trade on Thursday, as a Senate vote on a massive stimulus package to help the coronavirus-ravaged US economy was delayed.

Gold, prized by investors in times of crisis as a safe haven, is experiencing surging demand in the face of the coronavirus outbreak -- from both commodity traders and retail buyers.

Asian markets mostly rose Thursday as investors breathed a sigh of relief that US senators have finally passed a gargantuan stimulus package for the world's top economy after being delayed by wrangling over details.

The former head of Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse pocketed nearly $11 million last year as the company grappled with a massive spying scandal, the bank indicated in its annual report Wednesday.