Aussie Dollar Falls Versus Peers Before Business Confidence Poll The Australian dollar fell against its major peers before the release of a business confidence survey that may boost the case for the Reserve Bank to cut interest rates. The Aussie slid toward the lowest in nearly three years against the greenback amid prospects for the South Pacific nation’s yield advantage over the U.S. to deteriorate. Traders increased bets to a record last week that Australia’s currency will weaken further. Declines in New Zealand’s kiwi dollar were limited after business confidence rose to the highest in almost four years. “The forces are in place for Aussie to trend lower,” said Kieran Davies, chief economist at Barclays Plc in Sydney. “The U.S. outlook is gradually improving, whereas in Australia it’s hard to see any upside in the next six months to a year.” The Australian dollar fell 0.3 percent to 91.10 U.S. cents as of 10:44 a.m. in Sydney from yesterday, when it gained 0.7 percent, the most since July 1. It touched 90.37 on July 3, the lowest since September 2010. New Zealand’s currency slipped 0.2 percent to 77.83 U.S. cents. National Australia Bank Ltd. releases its monthly survey of business confidence today. The gauge improved to -1 in May from the month before. “The expectation is that business confidence will remain depressed,” said Davies. “It still paints a picture where companies are wary about putting on more staff or investing.” The difference in the number of wagers by hedge funds and other large speculators on a decline in the Australian dollar compared with those on a gain -- so-called net shorts -- was a record 70,515 on July 2, figures from the Washington-based Commodity Futures Trading Commission show. New Zealand business confidence rose in the second quarter to the highest since the period ended September 2009. The New Zealand Institute of Economic Research’s poll climbed to 32, from 23 in the first three months of the year.
Posted on: Tue, 09 Jul 2013 01:35:01 +0000
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