Aussie Drops From Near Week-High After Full-Time Jobs Decline

 Australia’s dollar tumbled from near a one-week high after a report today showed the nation’s full-time employment dropped by the most in more than a year.

The Aussie weakened versus all of its 16 major counterparts and the yield on government debt due in a decade fell, set to halt an a five-day advance that sent it yesterday to the highest level in three weeks following the Reserve Bank’s Nov. 5 decision to hold borrowing costs. New Zealand’s currency slid for the first time in five days as Asian stocks declined.

Today’s jobs data had “weak details,” said Sue Trinh, a senior currency strategist at Royal Bank of Canada in Hong Kong. The currency’s outlook “will be a little bit more nuanced. The data that we had of late have been mixed enough to keep the RBA pretty much on the sidelines at least into the second quarter of next year.” RBC predicts an interest-rate cut in the three months through June 2014, Trinh said.

The Australian dollar dropped 0.6 percent to 94.72 U.S. cents as of 12:03 p.m. in Sydney after touching 95.43 yesterday, the highest since Oct. 29. The 10-year yield slid three basis points to 4.18 percent after peaking at 4.22 percent yesterday, a level unseen since Oct. 16.

New Zealand’s currency lost 0.1 percent to 83.65 U.S. cents from 83.77 yesterday, when it completed a 1.4 percent, four-day gain. The nation’s two-year swap rate, a fixed payment made to receive floating rates, was little changed at 3.51 percent. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index of shares fell 0.2 percent.

Australian employers cut 27,900 full-time positions last month, the biggest drop since June 2012, the statistics bureau said in Sydney today.

(Source: Bloomberg)

Euro Near Two-Week Low on ECB; Aussie Climbs as Spending Surges

The euro was 0.1 percent from its lowest in two weeks before European Central Bank Executive Board member Joerg Asmussen speaks in the run-up to a policy meeting amid signs further stimulus may be needed in the region.

Europe’s common currency maintained its biggest weekly drop since July 2012 before the Mario Draghi-led ECB meets on Nov. 7, when economists predict it will keep interest rates at 0.5 percent. The dollar held gains from last week against most major peers before Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher speaks today, after a Nov. 1 report showed U.S. manufacturing was the strongest in more than two years. Australia’s dollar rose, halting back-to-back weekly declines, after retail sales rose twice as fast as economists forecast.

The euro rose 0.1 percent to $1.3498 as of 8:50 a.m. in Singapore, and last week dropped 2.3 percent, the largest decrease since the five days ended July 6, 2012. It fell as low as $1.3480 on Nov. 1, the least since Oct. 16.

Europe’s shared currency gained 0.1 percent to 133.23 yen. The dollar traded at 98.70 from 98.67 in New York. Japan’s financial markets are closed for a national holiday today.

The euro sank last week after an Oct. 31 report showed the region’s annual inflation rate fell to 0.7 percent in October, the least since November 2009, from 1.1 percent in September.

(Source: Bloomberg)

Aussie Pares Biggest Weekly Drop Since August After China PMI

Australia’s dollar halted declines that have it on course for the biggest weekly loss since August after a Chinese report showed manufacturing strengthened last month at a quicker pace than economists had forecast.

The currency was also supported after data in Australia and South Korea indicated expanding factory output, adding to signs of stabilization of growth in the region. New Zealand’s currency was poised for its first back-to-back weekly losses in two months.

The Australian currency rose 0.1 percent to 94.62 U.S. cents as of 12:37 p.m. in Sydney, set for a 1.3 percent weekly drop, the most since the five days ended Aug. 30. It bought 92.99 yen, from 93 yesterday and has weakened 0.4 percent since Oct. 25.

The kiwi fell 0.1 percent to 82.56 U.S. cents, poised for a 0.3 percent weekly decline. It slid 0.2 percent to 81.13 yen.

The official manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (CPMINDX) for China climbed to an 18-month high of 51.4 in October, compared with 51.1 in September, the National Bureau of Statistics and China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said today. The reading compares with the median estimate of 51.2 in a Bloomberg News survey, with a number above 50 indicating growth.

A manufacturing index in Australia climbed to 53.2 last month, the highest since 2010, the Australian Industry Group said in a report today. Measures of production, employment, exports and new orders increased while those for inventories, deliveries and average wages declined. South Korea’s manufacturing PMI rose to 50.2 from 49.7, according to a report from HSBC and Markit Economics.

(Source; Bloomberg)