The Australian and New Zealand dollars held yesterday’s drop versus the greenback as Asian stocks followed a decline in U.S. equities and amid speculation gains in the currencies were excessive. The so-called Aussie retreated after yesterday touching the highest level versus the greenback since it began trading freely in 1983 as a gauge of commodities weakened, ending an eight-day advance. Declines in the New Zealand dollar were limited after a report showed exports increased by more than economists forecast. “The rallies in the Aussie and kiwi have run out of steam in the short-term and we should see a one or two-day pullback,” said Imre Speizer, a market strategist in Auckland at Westpac Banking Corp., Australia’s second-largest lender. He advised buying dips in both currencies as they “have their own strengths based on commodity growth at the moment.” Australia’s dollar traded at $1.0231 at 12:02 p.m. in Sydney, from $1.0244 in New York yesterday, when it reached a record $1.0315. The currency fell to 83.55 yen from 83.69 yen. New Zealand’s dollar fetched 75.03 U.S. cents from 75.13 cents yesterday, when it fell 0.3 percent. It declined to 61.26 yen from 61.37 in New York. The Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of raw materials declined 1.3 percent yesterday, paring its gain during March to 0.7 percent. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index of stocks slid 0.6 percent after a 0.3 percent fall in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. Raw materials are a majority of Australia and New Zealand’s exports. N.Z. Trade Australia’s dollar has risen 2.8 percent since March 18, the best performance versus the dollar among its 16 most-traded peers. The kiwi advanced 2.6 percent over that period. New Zealand posted its first trade surplus in eight months in February amid record-high commodity prices. Exports outpaced imports by NZ$194 million ($146 million), Statistics New Zealand said today. Overseas shipments, which make up 30 percent of gross domestic product, rose 17 percent from a year earlier to a nine-month high of NZ$3.87 billion, compared with a forecast for NZ$3.5 billion. The kiwi dollar will likely be supported toward the 74.70 cent level while Australia’s currency will find buyers near $1.0180, said Westpac’s Speizer. Demand for the Aussie may be bolstered before reports on March 31 forecast to show retail sales climbed for a fourth month and home-building approvals reversed declines. Retail sales rose 0.4 percent in February and the number of permits granted to build or renovate houses and apartments advanced 4 percent, after a 15.9 percent drop in the previous month, the Bureau of Statistics will say according to the median forecasts of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. To contact the reporter on this story: Candice Zachariahs in Sydney at czachariahs2@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Rocky Swift at rswift5@bloomberg.net

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