The Australian dollar fell against most of its 16 major counterparts after minutes of the central bank’s Aug. 2 meeting showed policy makers were concerned turmoil in financial markets could slow global economic growth. The so-called Aussie depreciated against the dollar for the first time in four days as traders bet the Reserve Bank of Australia will reduce interest rates. New Zealand’s dollar held a three-day gain against the greenback as Asian stocks advanced, boosting demand for higher-yielding currencies. “I see the Aussie going back to parity again” versus the U.S. dollar, said Lee Wai Tuck, a currency strategist at Forecast Pte in Singapore. “If turmoil continues, it could actually temper inflation over time,” easing pressure on the RBA to raise interest rates. The Australian dollar traded at $1.0483 as of 2:37 p.m. in Sydney from $1.0507 in New York yesterday. New Zealand’s dollar bought 83.34 U.S. cents from 83.28. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index of regional shares advanced 0.6 percent, paring its loss so far this month to 10 percent. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed 2.2 percent in New York. Traders see a 100 percent chance the Reserve Bank of Australia will cut the overnight cash-rate target by 50 basis points by October, contracts on the Sydney Futures Exchange show. RBA Governor Glenn Stevens held the key rate at 4.75 percent for a record eighth-straight meeting on Aug. 2. “The case against tightening at this meeting was that the downside risks to demand had probably increased, as a result of the acute uncertainty in global financial markets,” the minutes released today by the RBA showed. “This in turn could weaken the outlook for demand relative to the central forecast and, over the medium term, dampen the inflation outlook.” To contact the reporter on this story: Masaki Kondo in Singapore at mkondo3@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Rocky Swift at rswift5@bloomberg.net.

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