The Australian dollar rose for the first time in three days after employers unexpectedly added full- time workers last month, signaling the economy may avoid a recession. New Zealand’s currency advanced. Australia’s currency gained against Japan’s yen, halting a two-day loss, after the statistics bureau report showed the number of people employed climbed 1,200. The median of 17 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a decline of 18,000. The currencies were also higher as China, Australia’s second- largest export market, said new loans rose by a record in January, aiding government efforts to boost economic growth. “What we keep seeing in the monthly data is surprising resilience in the economy,” said Ashley Davies, a currency strategist in Singapore at UBS AG, the world’s second-biggest currency trader. The data “makes me more confident in the Australian dollar,” Davies said. Australia’s currency rose to 65.57 U.S. cents as of 2:44 p.m. in Sydney from 65.20 cents just before the data and 65.35 cents in Asia yesterday. The currency advanced 0.4 percent to 59 yen from 58.75 yesterday. New Zealand’s dollar gained 0.2 percent to 52.54 U.S. cents from 52.44 in Asia yesterday. It bought 47.28 yen from 47.15. UBS forecasts that the currency will trade at 75 U.S. cents in 12 months. Retail Sales Demand for the Australian and New Zealand dollars increased after the People’s Bank of China said today banks extended 1.62 trillion yuan ($237 billion) of new local-currency loans. M2, the broadest measure of money supply, climbed 18.8 percent from a year earlier, the fastest pace in more than a year. The currencies also advanced along with equities as U.S. lawmakers agreed on a $789 billion stimulus plan for the world’s largest economy. House Majority Leader Harry Reid told reporters yesterday that Congress may vote on the plan within days. “The Aussie and kiwi are closely following equity markets,” said Tony Allen, head of currency trading at ANZ National Bank Ltd. in Wellington, referring to the currencies by their nicknames. Gains in the New Zealand dollar may be limited before data tomorrow that economists expect to show retail sales in December slipped 0.7 percent, according to the average estimate of nine economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The currency could fall below 52 U.S. cents over the next few sessions, said Imre Speizer, a market strategist in Wellington at Westpac Banking Corp. New Zealand’s dollar has dropped 9 percent against the greenback and yen this year as Standard and Poor’s lowered the nation’s foreign currency rating outlook on Jan. 13. Goldman Forecasts The currency will decline to 48 U.S. cents in the next 12 months because of concern over the sustainability of the nation’s current-account deficits, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said in a report dated yesterday. The currency will trade at 52 U.S. cents in three months and 50 cents in six months, the bank said, revising its previous forecasts. Benchmark interest rates are 3.25 percent in Australia and 3.5 percent in New Zealand, compared with 0.1 percent in Japan and as low as zero percent in the U.S., attracting investors to the South Pacific nations’ higher-yielding assets. The risk in such trades is that currency market moves will erase profits. Australian government bonds rose for a fourth day. The yield on the 10-year note fell four basis points, or 0.04 percentage point, to 4.21 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The price of the 5.25 percent security due March 2019 advanced 0.362, or A$3.62 per A$1,000 face amount, to 108.471. New Zealand’s two-year swap rate, a fixed payment made to receive floating rates, fell to 3.34 percent from 3.38 yesterday.

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