By Candice Zachariahs Dec. 11 (Bloomberg) -- The Australian dollar pared losses after a report showed employers cut 15,600 jobs in November, in line with economists forecasts. The New Zealand dollar was little changed. Australia’s unemployment rate rose to a one-year high of 4.4 percent from 4.3 percent, the statistics bureau said in Sydney today. The median estimate was for a decline of 15,000 jobs according to a survey of 22 economists by Bloomberg News. The market “was concerned that we’d get a significant downside surprise,” said David Forrester, a currency economist at Barclays Capital in Singapore. “Overall the data isn’t overly positive for the Aussie and it’s going to continue to track equity markets and the euro-dollar,” he said referring to the Australian currency by its nickname. Australia’s dollar touched 65.85 U.S. cents after the report before trading at 65.77 cents as of 12:01 p.m. in Sydney from 65.77 cents late in Asia yesterday. The currency slipped 0.1 percent to 60.89 yen. New Zealand’s dollar advanced 0.2 percent to 54.48 U.S. cents from 54.39 in Asia yesterday. It bought 50.45 yen from 50.44. The Australian dollar has dropped 26 percent against the dollar and 39 percent versus the yen this year as slumping commodities and a global recession prompted investors to dump the nation’s assets. New Zealand’s currency has fallen 30 percent and 42 percent against the dollar and yen, respectively. Advances in the Australian dollar above 66 cents would be an opportunity to sell the currency, Forrester said. Equities Fall Any gains in two South Pacific nations’ currencies may be limited as regional equity markets declined on concern the U.S. Senate won’t pass a $14 billion rescue package for the auto industry. The currencies weakened earlier as exports from China, Australia’s largest trading partner, fell for the first time in seven years, pointing to a further slump in demand for commodities. Chinese exports declined 2.2 percent in November from a year earlier, while imports plunged 17.9 percent, pushing the trade surplus to a record $40.09 billion. “If demand and production in China is decreasing that’s going to have an effect on the Australian economy,” said Charles Wiggins, corporate risk manager at Custom House Global Foreign Exchange in Sydney. “Every time you see something negative go through, risk aversion comes in and the Aussie dollar gets hit.” Raw materials account for 60 percent of Australia’s exports and 70 percent of New Zealand’s overseas shipments. N.Z. Home Sales Home sales in New Zealand tumbled in November and the manufacturing industry shrank by the most since at least 2002, separate reports showed today. New Zealand’s economy will grow only slowly over the next few quarters and gain momentum towards the end of 2009, Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard said in a government briefing published in Wellington today. Bollard reduced rates by a record 1.5 percentage points this month to 5 percent to boost domestic spending. Benchmark interest rates are 4.25 percent in Australia, compared with 0.3 percent in Japan and 1 percent in the U.S., attracting investors to the South Pacific nations’ assets. The risk in such trades is that currency market moves will erase profits. Australian government bonds advanced. The yield on the 10- year note fell 12 basis points, or 0.12 percentage point, to 4.35 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The price of the 5.25 percent security due March 2019 gained 1.030, or A$10.30 per A$1,000 face amount, at 107.387. New Zealand’s two-year swap rate, a fixed payment made to receive floating rates, fell to 4.77 percent from 4.8 yesterday. To contact the reporter on this story: Candice Zachariahs in Sydney at czachariahs2@bloomberg.net

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