Australian, N.Z. Dollars Rise, Reversing Losses, as Stocks Gain

By Candice Zachariahs

April 9 (Bloomberg) -- The Australian and New Zealand dollars erased earlier losses as Asian equities gained and U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open, raising speculation investors will buy higher-yielding assets.

New Zealand’s currency gained for a second day as home sales advanced to the highest since November 2007. Australia’s dollar earlier dropped after the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose by the most in 18 years to 5.7 percent, exceeding the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of 5.4 percent.

“U.S. equity futures are up at this stage so once the data washes through, the market is going to get back to watching what’s happening to equity market futures,” said Jonathan Cavenagh, a currency strategist at Westpac Banking Corp. in Sydney. “You continue to see support for the Aussie at the mid to low 70 U.S. cent level, driven off equity market optimism.”

Australia’s dollar rose 0.4 percent to 71.30 U.S. cents as of 4:25 p.m. in Sydney from 71.01 cents in New York yesterday. The currency gained 0.7 percent to 71.33 yen.

New Zealand’s dollar advanced 0.6 percent to 58.28 U.S. cents from 57.97 in New York and bought 58.36 yen from 57.83 yen.

Asian stocks rose for the first time in three days as Japan’s ruling party proposed $154 billion of extra spending and the country’s machinery orders unexpectedly increased.

Gains in the Australian dollar towards 71.50 cents would “represent very good selling opportunities,” Cavenagh said.

N.Z. House Sales, Prices

New Zealand’s home sales in March totaled 6,694 in March from a record-low 3,706 in January and 5,228 in February, the Auckland-based Real Estate Institute of New Zealand Inc. said today. House prices fell 9.4 percent last month from a year earlier, the biggest drop since the series began in 2005, according to Quotable Value New Zealand Ltd., the Wellington- based government valuation agency.

Traders estimate the Reserve Bank of New Zealand will lower its benchmark at least 25 basis points at the April 30 board meeting, according to a Credit Suisse index based on swaps trading. Policy makers cut borrowing costs by 5.25 percentage points since July, to 2.75 percent on April 30,

Australian government bonds declined. The yield on 10-year notes added four basis points, or 0.04 percentage point, to 4.59 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The price of the 5.25 percent security due March 2019 slipped 0.36, or A$3.60 per A$1,000 face amount, to 105.25.

New Zealand’s two-year swap rate, a fixed payment made to receive floating rates, fell to 3.86 percent from 3.89 yesterday.

To contact the reporter on this story: Candice Zachariahs in Sydney at czachariahs2@bloomberg.net