The Australian and New Zealand dollars rose as Japan brought two of six reactors at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant under control, giving investors more confidence to buy higher-yielding assets. The two South Pacific dollars also strengthened for a second day versus the yen after the Group of Seven nations last week began joint intervention in the foreign-exchange market to weaken Japan’s currency. The so-called Aussie and kiwi dollars extended gains as Asian stocks advanced and higher oil prices increased demand for currencies linked to commodities. “There’s a slight bullish bias this week,” said Mike Jones, a currency strategist at Bank of New Zealand Ltd. in Wellington. “High global commodity prices are a big boon for the kiwi and Aussie.” Australia’s currency advanced to 81 yen at 3:07 p.m. in Sydney from 80.24 yen in New York on March 18, when it surged 3.8 percent. The Aussie rose to $1.0003 U.S. cents from 99.59 cents last week. New Zealand’s dollar gained 0.8 percent to 59.34 yen, and was at 73.29 U.S. cents from 73.11. The Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of raw materials gained for a third day on March 18 and crude oil for April delivery climbed 1.8 percent to $102.9 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange today. Allied officials said two days of strikes by missiles and warplanes have effectively grounded Muammar Qaddafi’s air force, halting his advances into the rebel stronghold of Benghazi, Libya’s second-biggest city. Oil output has fallen to about a quarter of the production before the crisis and may stop, Shokri Ghanem, chairman of Libya’s National Oil Co., said on March 19. Japan’s Nuclear Crisis The MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan Index of stocks gained 0.7 percent, with Japanese markets closed today for a holiday. U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said on the “Fox News Sunday” program that the Obama administration believes the worst is probably over in Japan as efforts to stabilize the Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant have had some success. Using a helicopter outfitted with infrared equipment, officials determined that the pools atop the plant’s six reactors were below 100 degrees centigrade (212 Fahrenheit), Japan Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa said last night. Australia’s currency rose against all 16 of its most-traded peers as traders reduced to 11 percent the probability that the nation’s central bank will cut interest rates when it meets April 5, after wagering on as much as a 34-percent chance of a reduction on March 15, according to a Credit Suisse AG index based on swaps. N.Z. Economy Bets on lower borrowing costs in Australia drove the currency down against its major counterparts last week. “We expect the money market’s pricing for a near-term cut in the cash rate by the Reserve Bank of Australia to be reversed,” Joseph Capurso, a Sydney-based currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, wrote in a note to clients. “So long as the situation in Japan or Libya does not deteriorate significantly, we expect the Australian dollar to rebound further.” New Zealand’s dollar touched a one-week low versus the so- called Aussie as economists cut predictions for growth in the smaller South Pacific economy this year and next after an earthquake in Christchurch stalled spending and shut businesses. The currency traded at NZ$1.3639 per Australian dollar after reaching as low as NZ$1.3733, the least since March 10. Gross domestic product will rise by 2 percent in the year ending March 31, 2012, according to the average estimate of 11 economists surveyed by the Wellington-based New Zealand Institute of Economic Research Inc. Three months ago, they forecast a 3.5 percent expansion. The economy will grow 0.8 percent in the year ending this month, the survey showed. The quarterly survey includes the forecasts of the Reserve Bank, Treasury Department, eight bank economists and the institute. New Zealand’s two-year swap rate, a fixed payment made to receive floating rates, rose six basis points to 3.29 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

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