The Australian dollar rose against its U.S. counterpart on speculation U.S. President Barack Obama’s re-election will boost prospects for monetary stimulus by the Federal Reserve that tends to debase the greenback. The so-called Aussie strengthened after Obama defeated Republican challenger Mitt Romney, according to television network projections that show the president winning the electoral votes needed for a second term. New Zealand’s currency also reversed losses from earlier today as Asian stocks extended an advance following the election outcome. “The Aussie has popped in a very short-term market reaction,� Sacha Tihanyi, a Hong Kong-based senior currency strategist at Scotiabank. With Obama poised to begin another four-year term “the consistent approach that will be executed by the current administration is positive. The one thing we don’t need these days is uncertainty.� The Australian dollar gained 0.2 percent to $1.0453 as of 4:20 p.m. in Sydney after earlier falling as much as 0.2 percent. The currency’s implied three-month volatility fell to 8.04 percent, the lowest since 2007. The New Zealand dollar added 0.1 percent to 82.81 U.S. cents, following an earlier decline of as much as 0.4 percent. The yield on Australia’s 10-year note climbed two basis point to 3.20 percent. New Zealand’s two-year swap rate, a fixed payment made to receive floating rates, fell five basis points to 2.70 percent. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) of shares gained 0.7 percent. To contact the reporter on this story: Kristine Aquino in Singapore at kaquino1@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Rocky Swift at rswift5@bloomberg.net

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