Germany’s Merkel calls for faster progress on EU-India trade deal – Reuters

BERLIN May 30 Germany will push hard in Brussels for progress to be made on a free-trade agreement between India and the European Union, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday in a speech warning of growing "protectionist tendencies" worldwide.

"It's important to us that we make progress on the German-Indian, or rather EU-Indian free trade agreement," she said at a Berlin business forum where she shared a platform with her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi. "We will do a major push in Brussels to ensure that these negotiations progress again."

Her remarks come after U.S. President Donald Trump repeated his criticism of Germany's trade surplus with his country, tweeting that the "MASSIVE" U.S. trade deficit with Europe's largest economy "will change".

Modi told the forum that economic collaboration between Germany and India was still "below full potential".

(Reporting By Thomas Escritt, Editing by Michelle Martin)

* Fitch on maldives' usd bonds -expected rating is in line with maldives' long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating (idr) of 'b+' with stable outlook Source text for Eikon:

NEW YORK, May 30 A U.S. rate hike is probably coming soon though the Federal Reserve may want to delay if recently soft inflation readings continue, an influential Fed governor said on Tuesday, adding she also backs shrinking a bond portfolio "before too long."

SAO PAULO, May 30 Latin American currencies seesawed on Tuesday as falling oil prices and a strong batch of U.S. economic figures fueled caution among traders. Signs of a resurgence in Libya's oil output reignited concerns over global oversupply, hammering prices of crude futures. The slump dampened demand for commodity-linked assets, with oil-heavy Colombia's peso down 0.3 percent. Investors also dialed back bets on a slow pace of U.S. interest rate hikes after U.S. cons

See more here:

Germany's Merkel calls for faster progress on EU-India trade deal - Reuters