Asian shares and oil prices retreated on Monday after their recent rallies were seen as overdone and as investors looked ahead to key events this week including a meeting of G20 world leaders. The euro extended losses against the dollar after Germany's finance minister said on Friday that surging debt levels in the euro zone could threaten the stability of the single currency. Investors have been slowly returning to riskier assets on expectations the ailing global economy may be near a bottom, and on hopes that a U.S. government plan to cleanse banks of toxic assets will put the world financial system on stronger footing. That wary optimism has helped Asian shares outside Japan surge more than 20 percent since their 2009 low on March 4 -- meeting the technical definition of a bull market. But opinions are divided over whether the rally is running out of steam amid a bleak outlook for corporate profits. Though global trade remains weak, there are some signs of a recovery, leading to some optimism ahead of a busy week that will feature the G20 gathering in London, a policy meeting by the European Central Bank, and employment data in the United States. Data on Monday showed Japan's industrial output fell for a fifth consecutive month in February but also flagged signs of a tentative recovery, while South Korea posted its biggest current account surplus in 11 years due to the weaker won currency.

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