The Australian and New Zealand dollars rose for the first week in a month versus their U.S. counterpart as the U.S. jobless rate unexpectedly dropped to the lowest since 2009, boosting demand for higher-yielding assets. New Zealand’s currency gained the most in a week since May 2009. Both South Pacific currencies fluctuated today after stocks pared gains on concern European leaders won’t agree at a summit next week on how to handle their sovereign-debt crisis. The Aussie’s performance was also tempered before the Reserve Bank of Australia holds a policy meeting on Dec. 6. “The Aussie will be stable to higher with recent data coming out of the U.S. relatively strong,� said Derek Mumford, a Sydney-based director at Rochford Capital, a currency-risk management firm. “We could see a rally over the next few weeks, but the reality is that things aren’t that good.� Australia’s dollar appreciated 5.3 percent this week to $1.0223 at 1:33 p.m. New York time. It ended the day down 0.2 percent. The Aussie gained 5.5 percent to 79.68 yen on the week and rose 0.1 percent today. New Zealand’s dollar, nicknamed the kiwi, strengthened 5 percent this week to 77.76 U.S. cents after slipping 0.2 percent today. It was little changed today at 60.61 yen and climbed 5.5 percent on the week. U.S. Jobless Rate The U.S. unemployment rate sank to 8.6 percent in November, the lowest level since March 2009, from 9 percent, the Labor Department reported today. The median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey had been for the rate to remain unchanged. Payrolls rose by 120,000 after a revised 100,000 gain the previous month. The MSCI World Index (MXWO) of stocks was up 0.4 percent after gaining as much as 1.1 percent. For the week, it climbed 8.3 percent. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.4 percent for the day and 7.8 percent for the week. Investors are betting the slowing outlook for global growth will prompt the RBA to lower its key interest rate. Policy makers will drop the benchmark by a quarter percentage point to 4.25 percent next week, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of 25 economists. German Chancellor Angela Merkel likened solving Europe’s debt crisis to a marathon, shunning investor calls for quick action while pushing for stricter budget enforcement and overhauling the region’s governance. Addressing lawmakers in Berlin today before a Dec. 9 summit of European leaders, Merkel rejected joint euro-area bonds or trying to make the European Central Bank the lender of last resort as quick fixes. To contact the reporters on this story: Candice Zachariahs in Sydney at czachariahs2@bloomberg.net; Catarina Saraiva in New York at asaraiva5@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dave Liedtka at dliedtka@bloomberg.net

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