Related News:
Australia, New Zealand Dollars Set for Weekly Gain on Stocks, Commodities
The Australian and New Zealand dollars headed for a third week of gains versus the greenback as stocks and commodities advanced on signs the U.S. economic recovery remains resilient.
Australia’s currency was near a three-week high versus the U.S. dollar after a report yesterday showed pending sales of existing homes unexpectedly rose in the world’s largest economy. Gold and oil prices climbed yesterday, boosting demand for assets in resource-rich nations such as Australia and New Zealand. Demand for the two currencies was tempered before a report economists said will show the U.S. cut jobs last month.
“Equity markets have rallied impressively over the past few sessions and that’s been off the back of better data in the U.S. and better data out of China,” said Jonathan Cavenagh, a currency strategist at Westpac Banking Corp. in Sydney. The Australian and New Zealand dollars “have been supported over the past few sessions.”
Australia’s dollar traded at 91.11 U.S. cents as of 11:06 a.m. in Sydney from 91.10 in New York yesterday, having gained 1.4 percent this week. The currency was at 76.84 yen from 76.78 yen. New Zealand’s dollar bought 71.53 cents from 71.47 cents, poised for a 0.7 percent gain since Aug. 27. The so-called kiwi was at 60.33 yen from 60.23.
The Aussie rose 0.7 percent this week against New Zealand’s dollar, its first advance in three weeks, after a government report showed that Australia’s economy expanded last quarter at the fastest pace in three years.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index of regional shares rose 0.4 percent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 0.1 percent. The Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of raw materials advanced 1 percent yesterday.
‘Mildly Better Mood’
The National Association of Realtors said yesterday its index of U.S. pending home resales rose 5.2 percent in July after a 2.8 percent drop the prior month. China’s Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 51.7 in August from 51.2 in July, the Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said on Sept. 1.
There is “a mildly better mood all around, so semblances of hope apparent, but amongst a market that simply looks fatigued after the risk-off sentiment of late,” a team of analysts led by Cameron Bagrie, chief economist at ANZ National Bank Ltd. in Wellington, wrote in a research note today.
U.S. companies trimmed 105,000 positions in August and the jobless rate increased to 9.6 percent from 9.5 percent in July, according to a Bloomberg News survey.
Payrolls Report
“All eyes will be on tonight’s U.S. payrolls report, which serves as a bellwether on the health of the economy and usually produces a fair degree of currency volatility,” John Kyriakopoulos, head of foreign-exchange strategy in Sydney at National Australia Bank Ltd., wrote in a note today. For the Australian dollar, “it will be the reaction of stocks and commodities that is key.”
Australian government bonds fell. The yield on the benchmark 10-year note gained five basis points to 4.86 percent, according to Bloomberg data. The 4.5 percent note due April 2020 declined 0.35, or A$3.50 per A$1,000 face amount, to 97.24. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.
New Zealand’s two-year swap rate, a fixed payment made to receive floating rates, rose three basis points to 3.80 percent.
To contact the reporter on this story: Yoshiaki Nohara in Tokyo at ynohara1@bloomberg.net
Rate These Stories
Rate this Page