By Candice Zachariahs
Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) -- The Australian and New Zealand dollars rose as a rally in U.S. equities at the end of last week spurred speculation that investors will buy higher-yielding assets.
The currencies jumped late on Dec. 5 in New York as stocks reversed an early slide, shrugging off a U.S. government report showing employers cut 533,000 jobs in November, the most in 34 years. The Australian dollar’s gains may be limited before a private report on job advertisements today. A government report on Dec. 11 may show November unemployment rose to a one-year high.
“There seems to be a bit of support off the fact that equity markets in the U.S. rallied after the payroll figure came out,” said Amy Auster, head of foreign-exchange and international economics research at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. in Melbourne. “It’s still a situation of sell on rallies for the Aussie,” she said, referring to the currency by its nickname.
Australia’s currency gained 0.1 percent to 64.74 U.S. cents as of 9:49 a.m. in Sydney, from 64.67 cents in New York late last week. The currency rose 0.1 percent to 60.09 yen.
New Zealand’s dollar advanced 0.6 percent to 53.63 U.S. cents from 53.32 in New York last week. It bought 49.79 yen from 49.50.
ANZ reports November job ads at 11:30 a.m. in Melbourne.
Unemployment Rising?
The number of people employed in Australia fell by 15,000, according to the median estimate of 22 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. That number gained 34,300 in October, driven by a jump in part-time jobs. The unemployment rate is forecast to grow to 4.4 percent, the highest since November 2007, from 4.3 percent. The statistics bureau will release the report on Dec. 11.
National Australia Bank Ltd. tomorrow releases its business confidence index for November. The gauge slumped 21 points in September to the lowest level since the series began in 1989. A consumer survey by Westpac Banking Corp. and Melbourne Institute showed last month that consumer confidence advanced after the most aggressive central-bank interest rate cuts since 1991. The December results will be issued on Dec. 10.
The currencies dropped last week on speculation interest- rate cuts by central banks worldwide won’t shore up consumer spending and growth. The Reserve Bank of Australia slashed rates 1 percentage point to 4.25 percent and New Zealand policy makers cut borrowing costs a record 1.5 percentage points to 5 percent.
To contact the reporter on this story: Candice Zachariahs in Sydney at czachariahs2@bloomberg.net
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment