The Australian dollar rose for the fourth day as investors sold the U.S. currency on speculation President Barack Obama’s government will increase its ownership of Citigroup Inc. New Zealand’s currency also advanced. Australia’s dollar strengthened against the yen as Japan’s deteriorating economy prompted investors to sell the low- yielding currency. Citigroup is in talks with federal officials that may increase state ownership of the bank to as much as 40 percent, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the situation it didn’t identify. “We’re in for a fairly aggressive down-move in the U.S. dollar across the board,” said Paul Milton, chief foreign- exchange dealer at Societe Generale Australia Ltd. in Sydney. “I can’t see any reason why the Aussie can’t go back to the 66 U.S. cent-level over the next couple of days on the back of weak dollar sentiment,” he said, referring to the currency by its nickname. Australia’s currency rose 0.5 percent to 64.86 U.S. cents as of 4:30 p.m. in Sydney from late last week in New York. The currency advanced 0.2 percent to 60.36 yen. New Zealand’s dollar gained 0.1 percent to 51.17 U.S. cents from Feb. 20. It bought 47.64 yen from 47.70. The so-called kiwi may bounce to 55 U.S. cents, Milton said. New Zealand’s currency fell earlier as ANZ National Bank Ltd. said the economy may shrink about 3 percent this year and the jobless rate climb to a 15-year high. ANZ National, the nation’s biggest lender, said the New Zealand dollar will slump to 41 U.S. cents by the fourth quarter as the currency acts as “the release valve for the economy.” Futures Traders The two currencies advanced as the MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose along with U.S. stock futures on speculation the U.S. government will reduce the risk of bank failures. Futures traders increased bets the Australian dollar will decline against the U.S. currency, figures from the Washington- based Commodity Futures Trading Commission show. The difference in the number of wagers by hedge funds and other large speculators on a drop in the Australian currency compared with those on a gain -- so-called net shorts -- was 7,290 on Feb. 17, compared with net shorts of 5,848 a week earlier. The extra yield the Australian state of Queensland pays to borrow compared with the federal government rose by the most in 10 weeks after Standard & Poor’s cut the state’s rating on Feb. 20. The premium Queensland pays on 2013 debt over the Australian government rose 23 basis points to 124 basis points, the biggest jump since Dec. 10. The spread for New South Wales 2014 notes added 14 basis points. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point. Australian government bonds rose. The yield on the benchmark 10-year note fell two basis points to 4.13 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The price of the 5.25 percent security due March 2019 gained 0.135, or A$1.35 per A$1,000 face amount, to 108.94. New Zealand’s two-year swap rate, a fixed payment made to receive floating rates, fell to 3.28 percent from 3.29 last week.

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