BLBG:Australian, New Zealand Dollars Near One-Week High Before Euro-Area Meet
The Australian and New Zealand dollars traded about 0.5 percent from one-week highs before euro-area officials meet in Brussels amid optimism leaders are working to fast-track a solution to the region’s debt crisis.
The so-called Aussie gained for a fourth day against the yen as Asian stocks extended a global rally in equities, boosting demand for higher-yielding assets. The currency earlier weakened briefly after the government said it will cut spending by A$6.8 billion ($6.7 billion) to deliver a budget surplus, adding pressure on the central bank to lower interest rates.
“In the short term, there’s some renewed optimism on Europe and we’re likely to get some positive comments from European leaders,” said Jim Vrondas, a manager at the online foreign-exchange dealer OzForex Ltd. in Sydney. “We’d look at a rally in the Aussie above parity as an opportunity to sell the currency, looking for some further weakness into year-end.”
Australia’s dollar rose 0.2 percent to 99.26 U.S. cents at 3:16 p.m. in Sydney from 99.05 cents in New York yesterday, when it touched 99.76, the most since Nov. 21. The currency gained 0.3 percent to 77.50 yen.
New Zealand’s dollar was little changed at 75.54 cents from yesterday, when it reached 75.75, the most since Nov. 21. It traded 0.2 percent higher at 58.98 yen.
Euro-area officials will begin a two-day meeting in Brussels today. Germany is working with “an ambitious timeline,” Chancellor Angela Merkel’s chief spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said yesterday.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) rose 0.8 percent.
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
