The Australian dollar slid to a
three-week low against its U.S. counterpart after the Reserve
Bank of Australia unexpectedly lowered its benchmark interest
rate to the least since 2009.
The Aussie dropped against all of its 16 most-traded peers
as a global slowdown drags on commodity prices that have helped
drive 21 years of growth. The yen fell amid speculation Japan
may act to weaken the currency. The euro rose as Spanish and
Italian bonds advanced before an Oct. 4 meeting of the European
Central Bank. South Africa’s rand gained versus the U.S. dollar
for the first time in three days.
“The rate cut is clearly a surprise,” Andrew Busch, a
global currency strategist at Bank of Montreal in Chicago, said
in a telephone interview. “The Aussie dollar is going to be
quite soft going forward. There could be a move toward parity if
we start to see deterioration in the stock markets globally.”
Australia’s dollar fell 0.5 percent to $1.0311 at 9:12 a.m.
New York time, after touching $1.0292, the lowest level since
Sept. 7. The yen weakened 0.5 percent to 100.97 per euro and
lost 0.2 percent to 78.12 per dollar. The 17-nation euro added
0.3 percent to $1.2924.
RBA Governor Glenn Stevens and his board lowered the
overnight cash-rate target by a quarter-percentage point to 3.25
percent, the central bank said in a statement in Sydney today.
Swaps Indicator
The decision to end a three-month pause was predicted by
nine of 28 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Swaps markets
indicated before the RBA announcement that there was a more than
70 percent chance of a reduction in the cash-rate target,
according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Lower interest rates reduce the yield on a nation’s fixed-
income assets, making the currency less attractive to investors
from overseas.
New Zealand’s dollar gained versus most major currencies
after a report showed commodity export prices advanced last
month, buoying the currency. ANZ National Bank Ltd.’s price
index rose 3.5 percent to 263 in September, its highest level
since April.
The currency, nicknamed the kiwi, rose 0.5 percent to 83.14
U.S. cents. The kiwi strengthened 0.6 percent to 64.96 yen.
South Africa’s rand strengthened as foreign buying of the
country’s government bonds increased after they were included in
a key index.
The rand advanced as much as 0.7 percent before trading 0.2
percent stronger at 8.3687 per dollar. Yields on 6.75 percent
notes due 2021 fell nine basis points to 6.57 percent.
Ruble Falls
The Russian ruble decreased against the euro amid concerns
that declining commodity prices will pare investor appetite for
the currency of the world’s biggest energy exporter. The ruble
fell 0.3 percent to 40.1977 per euro.
The yen slid against all of its 16 major peers except the
Australian dollar after Japan’s new Finance Minister Koriki Jojima said the government will “take bold actions against the
currency’s excessive moves, if necessary.”
His comments echoed those used by predecessor Jun Azumi,
signaling that intervention in currency markets remains an
option.
“The new finance minister was pretty clear that the
rhetoric hasn’t changed, even though the post has,” said Chris Walker, currency strategist at UBS AG (UBSN) in London. “We’re at
levels where previously they were intervening. Once you get
around 80, people think you might get a further bout.”
Japan hasn’t intervened in the currency market since
November, according to the finance ministry.
Gains Limited
Gains in the euro were limited before data tomorrow that
economists in a Bloomberg survey said will show European retail
sales fell 0.1 percent in August from July, when they slipped
0.2 percent. Figures yesterday showed unemployment in the euro
area climbed to a record 11.4 percent in August.
The Frankfurt-based ECB will keep its main refinancing rate
unchanged at a record low 0.75 percent this week and will reduce
it by the end of the year, a separate Bloomberg survey of
economists showed.
Spain’s Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said the nation is
pressing on with its analysis of whether to seek a bailout,
moving beyond his call last week that the European Union needed
to provide more guidance on conditions.
“If Spain decides to ask for a bailout, that’s a positive
factor for the euro,” said Noriaki Murao, New York-based
managing director of the marketing group at the Bank of Tokyo-
Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd., a unit of Japan’s biggest financial group
by market value. “That could reduce risks of a euro breakup.”
The euro lost 2.9 percent over the past six months, the
biggest drop after the Swiss franc among 10 developed-nation
currencies tracked by Bloomberg Correlation Weighted Indexes.
The dollar rose 0.4 percent and the yen jumped 6.1 percent. The
Aussie depreciated 0.8 percent, the indexes showed.
Source: Bloomberg
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