Aussie Dollar Touches One-Month High After U.S. Jobs Surprise

Australias 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 Reserves decisions on further reductions in stimulus that has tended to weaken the greenback. Australias 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.

The data coming out of Australia has been stable to good and that needs to continue with the unemployment number later this week for people to reassess their rates outlook, said Derek Mumford, a director at Rochford Capital, foreign-exchange risk-management company in Sydney. If the Aussie can consolidate above 89.50, theres potential for a move higher.

Australias 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 Zealands 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 Novembers 21,000 gain, a separate survey showed before the Jan. 16 report.

Australias 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.

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

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Garfield Reynolds at greynolds1@bloomberg.net

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Aussie Dollar Touches One-Month High After U.S. Jobs Surprise