Australia’s dollar touched a one-month high on prospects a
report this week will show jobs grew for a second month, enhancing local
assets' allure relative to the U.S., where labor data last week fell short of
estimates.
The Aussie completed back-to-back weekly gains on Jan. 10,
the first since August, as traders evaluated whether the U.S. data will affect
the Federal Reserve’s decisions on further reductions in stimulus that has tended
to weaken the greenback. Australia’s bonds rose, sending the benchmark 10-year
yield to the lowest level since Dec. 18. The premium over shorter-dated notes
narrowed as bets on rate cuts in Australia declined.
Australia’s dollar fetched 90.10 U.S. cents as of 11 a.m.
in Sydney, after reaching 90.15 cents, from 89.95 in New York on Jan. 10, when
it completed a 0.6 percent weekly advance. It gained 0.2 percent to NZ$1.0852
and was little changed at 93.68 yen.
New Zealand’s currency was at 83.04 U.S. cents from 83.03
and fell 0.2 percent to 86.32 yen.
U.S. employers added 74,000 jobs in December, the slowest
pace since January 2011, compared with the median forecast for 197,000
additions in a Bloomberg News poll.
Jobs probably increased by 10,000 in Australia following
November’s 21,000 gain, a separate survey showed before the Jan. 16 report.
Australia’s 10-year bond yield fell five basis points to
4.22 percent after touching 4.21 percent. The premium over three-year bond
yields reached 1.23 percentage points, the least since Dec. 4.
(Source: Bloomberg)