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Massive 8.7 quake hits off Indonesia-Tsunami fear

The Indonesian president said on Wednesday there was no immediate threat of a tsunami from an 8.6-magnitude earthquake that struck off Sumatra island. Indonesia has issued its own tsunami warning and an Indian Ocean-wide alert was also issued after the quake, but  President Susilo Bambang  Yudhoyono said there was no immediate threat.

Indian Jewelers Call Off Strike.

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NEW DELHI—India's gold-jewelry trade associations agreed Friday to call off a 20-day strike, after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee promised to look into rollbacks on newly implemented gold taxes. Indian retailers have been protesting measures, effective March 16, that doubled the import tax on gold to 4% and imposed excise taxes on most gold jewelry. Earlier, the excise tax was applicable only on gold jewelry sold by large, private companies. Imports by India, the world's top consumer of gold, have nearly stopped due to the strike, impacting global prices. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303302504577327283295554276.html

Gold fall to 12-Week low as Fed stimulus stance lifts dollar

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New York: Gold on Wednesday dropped to a 12- week low by losing 2.6 percent as the dollar strengthened on signs the Federal Reserve may refrain from providing more monetary stimulus for the US. The gold fell by 2.6 percent to USD 1,628.10 an ounce, after touching USD 1,621.50, the lowest since January 10. Silver also fell by 4.1 percent to USD 31.90 an ounce, the biggest drop since March 14.