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Aussie Dollar Strengthens on Better-Than-Forecast U.S. Employment Report
The Australian dollar rose to the highest level in more than three weeks against its U.S. counterpart after a better-than-forecast U.S. jobs report boosted investors’ appetite for higher-yielding assets.
The Australian dollar earlier declined versus the greenback and yen on speculation the Reserve Bank of Australia will keep interest rates unchanged next week. The New Zealand dollar headed for a third week of gains versus the greenback as stocks and commodities advanced.
“Risk sentiment has improved dramatically,” said John McCarthy, director of currency trading at ING Groep NV in New York. “You’ll see most of it in terms of a firmer Australian dollar, New Zealand dollar and Canadian dollar and a weaker yen.”
Australia’s dollar rose 0.5 percent to 91.51 U.S. cents at 11:30 a.m. in New York from 91.10 yesterday, boosting its weekly gain to 1.8 percent. The Aussie earlier reached 91.76, the highest since Aug. 9. The currency gained 0.7 percent to 77.33 yen.
New Zealand’s dollar rose 0.8 percent to 72.03 cents from 71.47 cents, poised for a 1.3 percent gain since Aug. 27. The so-called kiwi added 1 percent to 60.87 yen from 60.23.
The Aussie fell 0.5 percent this week against New Zealand’s dollar, dropping for a second week.
U.S. Labor Department figures showed payrolls that exclude government agencies climbed 67,000 in the world’s biggest economy, after a revised 107,000 increase in July that was more than initially estimated. The median estimate of economists in a Bloomberg survey called for a gain of 40,000 private positions. Overall payrolls shed 54,000 jobs, compared with a forecast for a drop of 105,000.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index of regional shares rose 0.3 percent and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 0.5 percent.
To contact the reporters on this story: Catarina Saraiva in New York at asaraiva5@bloomberg.net; Yoshiaki Nohara in Tokyo at ynohara1@bloomberg.net
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