Gold price hits 3-week low as easing Syria tensions dent safe-haven appeal
Reuters | Singapore | Updated: Sep 11 2013, 10:51 IST
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Gold is one of the biggest items in a record CAD that has helped push rupee to an all-time low. (AP)
SummaryGold is one of the biggest items in a record CAD that has helped push rupee to an all-time low.
Syria has accepted a Russian proposal to give up chemical weapons but US President Barack Obama said it was too early to tell if the initiative would succeed, vowing to keep military forces at the ready to strike if diplomacy fails.
Gold, which has fallen more than 18 percent this year, is also being hurt by expectations the US Federal Reserve will opt to taper its monetary stimulus programme after the Fed's Open Market Committee meeting on Sept. 17-18.
Spot gold hit a low of $1,356.85 an ounce, its weakest since August 22, and was steady at $1,364.01 by 0343 GMT. The Fed's three quantitative easing schemes have buoyed prices of gold and other commodities.
"It's really a confluence of three things," said Mark Keenan, a cross-commodity research strategist at Societe Generale in Singapore.
"Currency weakness, specifically in India, the tapering that we believe will be announced in (FOMC) meeting, and a slight deterioration in the requirement of having a safe haven in the light of these strikes in Syria possibly being averted." US gold was little changed at $1,364.20 an ounce.
Asian shares rose on Wednesday, on track to post their 10th straight day of gains, while investors gave the safe-haven yen a wide berth as optimism for the Chinese economy grew and worries about US military strikes on Syria receded.
US crude for October delivery was down 54 cents at $106.85 a barrel.
With 7-yr turnaround plan, Skoda to focus on brand-building in India
Roudra Bhattacharya | Updated: Sep 10 2013, 03:40 IST
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SummaryPlans to concentrate on premium segment, no small cars on horizon
Sudhir Rao, MD, Skoda Auto India, told FE that in the past year the company had been evaluating its strengths and weaknesses and has now devised a plan for the short and medium term. “Our strengths are our products, our weakness is the often-stated customer service and after-sales. Our strong focus is now on eliminating that weakness. That will put us back in a very strong position from a brand perspective, which then sets the foundation for growth. So the sequence has reversed, its now about focussing on products, eliminating weaknesses and going for growth,” he said.
“This strategy will play itself out over the next seven years, till 2020. There are obviously milestones in between. To fix (the weaknesses) is a two-three journey. The message I want to send out to the market is that we have strong products and that we are turning this company around in terms of all its negatives,” he added.
The start of this new strategy will see Skoda, a Volkswagen group brand, bring back the 'Octavia' brand in the next few weeks in the form of a new mid-size sedan. The brand is important, since the Octavia sedan was the first brand for the company when it entered India 12 years ago and still has strong recall with consumers, but it was later replaced with the Laura.
Incidentally, this development comes a few weeks after the company decided to “temporarily pause” the production of the Fabia hatch at the Chakan plant near Pune. The Fabia was the
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