Australia’s dollar fell from a two- week high against the yen on speculation Europe will struggle to contain its sovereign debt woes even if Greece passes a package of austerity measures, curbing demand for assets tied to growth. The so-called Aussie snapped yesterday’s advance versus the greenback after a government report showed an index of job advertisements dropped for a second month. The Australian and New Zealand’s dollars also weakened against most major counterparts as Chinese stocks declined amid concern government efforts to slow growth will hurt the property market. “The risk is that the confidence surrounding the European financial system will fade rather quickly and Aussie will trade back down,” said Greg Gibbs, a currency strategist at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc in Sydney. “There are a number of issues that the market is getting concerned about in China and that also leads me to think that the next couple of months are going to be a struggle for the Aussie.” Australia’s dollar depreciated to 85.34 yen as of 2:02 p.m. in Sydney from 85.51 yen in New York yesterday after earlier rising to 85.57, the strongest since June 16. The currency traded at $1.0530 after gaining 0.9 percent yesterday to $1.0541. New Zealand’s currency dropped 0.2 percent to 65.76 yen, and was at 81.14 U.S. cents from 81.21 cents. Greece’s parliament votes today on Prime Minister George Papandreou’s 78 billion-euro ($112 billion) austerity plan, which is needed before the cash-strapped nation can gain a fifth installment from last year’s 110 billion-euro rescue. “The Greek vote may be a case of buy the rumor, sell the fact,” said Tony Allen, global head of foreign-exchange trading in Sydney at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. “The Aussie is still a buy on dips.” Skilled Vacancies The number of jobs available in newspapers for skilled workers in Australia fell 2 percent in June from a month earlier, according to an index released by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations in Canberra. Australia’s dollar has weakened against 12 of its 16 major counterparts this month. The currency has slipped 3.9 percent against the Swiss franc, 1.9 percent versus the yen and 1.5 percent against the Brazilian real. The currency will end the year at $1.04, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey, while New Zealand’s dollar will fall to 79 U.S. cents. The Australian and New Zealand dollars weakened as the Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks the bigger of China’s stock exchanges, fell for the first time in seven days, declining 0.4 percent. China’s inflation will be a “big story” over the next decade and is “most likely chronic,” central bank adviser Li Daokui said today in Beijing. There is widespread discontent with market reforms, he said at a conference. China is Australia’s largest trading partner and New Zealand’s second- biggest export market. 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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