Nov. 23 (Bloomberg) -- The Australian dollar advanced for the first time in five days as global stocks rose and gold climbed to a record. New Zealand’s dollar also gained.

Australia’s currency appreciated versus the yen as traders increased bets that the Reserve Bank will raise interest rates for a record third month on Dec. 1. The U.S. dollar fell versus all of the 16 major currencies tracked by Bloomberg except the yen on speculation the Federal Reserve will keep its stimulus measures in place.

“We will see a continuation of the carry trade, primarily against the U.S. dollar,” said Timothy Connors, head of foreign exchange at Custom House Global Foreign Exchange in Sydney. “There’s a lot of buying on dips, certainly on the Aussie dollar and perhaps even equities, which are off their highs and present really good buying opportunities.”

Australia’s currency rose 1.1 percent to 92.46 U.S. cents at 1:13 p.m. in New York, from 91.47 cents at the end of last week, when it fell 2 percent. The Aussie advanced 1.4 percent to 82.39 yen. New Zealand’s dollar gained 1.3 percent to 73.34 U.S. cents, from 72.42, after sliding 2.6 percent last week. The kiwi climbed 1.6 percent to 65.35 yen, from 64.36.

Benchmark interest rates are 3.5 percent in Australia and 2.5 percent in New Zealand, compared with 0.1 percent in Japan and as low as zero in the U.S., encouraging the carry trade, in which investors buy higher-yielding assets with amounts borrowed in nations with low interest rates.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose for the first time in four days, increasing 1.3 percent as a report from the National Association of Realtors showed that sales of existing U.S. homes climbed 10 percent in October to the highest level since February 2007.

Record Gold

Gold, Australia’s third-most-valuable raw material export, jumped to a record today as the slumping U.S. dollar boosted bullion’s appeal as an alternative asset.

Demand for Australia’s dollar got a boost as swaps trading indicated a 69 percent chance the Reserve Bank will raise its target lending rate by a quarter-percentage point at its December meeting, according to a Credit Suisse Group AG index. The gauge indicated a 62 percent chance on Nov. 20.

Futures traders decreased bets that the Australian dollar will gain against the U.S. currency for a fourth week, figures from the Washington-based Commodity Futures Trading Commission show. The difference in the number of wagers by hedge funds and other large speculators on an advance in the Aussie compared with those on a drop -- so-called net longs -- was 46,888 on Nov. 17, compared with net longs of 47,434 a week earlier.

Australian government bonds rose for a third day. The yield on 10-year notes fell three basis points, or 0.03 percentage point, to 5.36 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The price of the 5.25 percent security due in March 2019 gained 0.230, or A$2.30 per A$1,000 face amount, to 99.183.

New Zealand’s two-year swap rate, a fixed payment made to receive floating rates, rose to 4.40 percent, from 4.34 percent at the end of last week.

To contact the reporters on this story: Candice Zachariahs in Sydney at czachariahs2@bloomberg.net; Ruby Madren-Britton in New York at rmadrenbritt@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 23, 2009 13:24 EST