Ben Bernake

The push-back came on Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's last day on the job and two days after the U.S. central bank reduced the pace of its huge asset purchase program. The Fed made the move on Wednesday despite a bruising selloff in emerging markets that was prompted in part by the prospect of less U.S. monetary support.

The minutes of the central bank's Federal Open Market Committee meeting late last month, released Wednesday, showed hints that some committee members were more comfortable with easing back sooner rather than later on the Fed's program of purchasing $85 billion a month in government bonds and mortgage-backed securities.

Financial markets have recently sold off on concerns that the Fed may begin to scale back its $85 billion a month bond-buying programme as soon as September. But Bernanke's comments, which played down the strength of last week's June payrolls report, prompted investors to reassess the risk of an early end to the Fed's programme.

Spot gold rose 0.5 per cent to $1,232,66 an ounce by 0933 GMT, after a 4 per cent fall on Wednesday that took the metal to its lowest since August 2010 at $1,221.80.

Mr Chidambaram said the Indian economy was not insulated from the rest of the world and the Fed's statements have had an impact across the globe but expressed bewilderment at the global reactions.

World stock indexes rose and the euro leaped against the dollar on Monday as investors cheered exit poll results from Italy's weekend election that showed the pro-reform Democratic Party was in the lead. US Treasury yields also rose.

Ben Bernanke, once a student of the Great Depression, is today a man who is being credited with avoiding another slide into a deep recession.

The push-back came on Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's last day on the job and two days after the U.S. central bank reduced the pace of its huge asset purchase program. The Fed made the move on Wednesday despite a bruising selloff in emerging markets that was prompted in part by the prospect of less U.S. monetary support.

The minutes of the central bank's Federal Open Market Committee meeting late last month, released Wednesday, showed hints that some committee members were more comfortable with easing back sooner rather than later on the Fed's program of purchasing $85 billion a month in government bonds and mortgage-backed securities.

Financial markets have recently sold off on concerns that the Fed may begin to scale back its $85 billion a month bond-buying programme as soon as September. But Bernanke's comments, which played down the strength of last week's June payrolls report, prompted investors to reassess the risk of an early end to the Fed's programme.

Spot gold rose 0.5 per cent to $1,232,66 an ounce by 0933 GMT, after a 4 per cent fall on Wednesday that took the metal to its lowest since August 2010 at $1,221.80.

Mr Chidambaram said the Indian economy was not insulated from the rest of the world and the Fed's statements have had an impact across the globe but expressed bewilderment at the global reactions.

World stock indexes rose and the euro leaped against the dollar on Monday as investors cheered exit poll results from Italy's weekend election that showed the pro-reform Democratic Party was in the lead. US Treasury yields also rose.

Ben Bernanke, once a student of the Great Depression, is today a man who is being credited with avoiding another slide into a deep recession.