Australia’s dollar rose against most of its major counterparts as data on building permits and trade added to signs of resilience in the economy. The New Zealand dollar touched a one-week low versus Japan’s currency after the nation’s unemployment rate rose in the fourth quarter. Demand for both currencies was tempered as reports of violence at anti-government protests in Egypt curbed demand for higher-yielding assets. “The trade surplus and building approvals are very good numbers,” said Kurt Magnus, executive director of currency sales at Nomura Holdings Inc. in Sydney. “The economy is doing very well, which means the Australian dollar continues higher.” The so-called Aussie was at 82.45 yen as of 4:43 p.m. in Sydney from 82.38 yen in New York yesterday. Australia’s currency traded at $1.0100 from $1.0101. New Zealand’s dollar slipped to 77.15 U.S. cents from 77.33 cents. The so-called kiwi was at 62.98 yen from 63.07 yen, after earlier falling to 62.92, the lowest since Jan. 25. The Aussie will reach $1.0330 before it goes back to parity with the greenback, Nomura’s Magnus said. The number of permits granted to build or renovate houses and apartments in Australia advanced 8.7 percent in December from November, when they fell a revised 3.9 percent, the Bureau of Statistics said in Sydney today. A separate report showed the trade surplus was A$1.98 billion ($2 billion) in December, compared with the median estimate of A$1.6 billion in a Bloomberg News survey of economists. Rate Expectation Swaps traders are betting the Reserve Bank of Australia will raise its benchmark by 29 basis points over the next 12 months, up from 22 basis points yesterday, according to a Credit Suisse AG index. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point. The central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at its Feb. 1 monetary-policy meeting after lifting rates seven times from October 2009 to November last year. New Zealand’s jobless rate increased to 6.8 percent from 6.4 percent three months earlier, Statistics New Zealand said today. The median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a reading of 6.5 percent. “The recovery is quite patchy and this has been quite a volatile number,” said Tim Kelleher, vice-president of institutional banking and markets at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Auckland. “The kiwi will stay on the back-foot, but it should hold above 77 U.S. cents.” The kiwi extended its decline after Finance Minister Bill English signaled his government’s steps to shrink a fiscal deficit should reduce the need for monetary tightening by the central bank and ease pressure on nation’s currency. The current exchange rate is an “impediment” for the country’s exports, English said in an interview in Wellington today. Egyptian Protests Australia’s currency erased gains versus the greenback as supporters of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak clashed violently in central Cairo with demonstrators demanding an immediate end to his reign. Gunfire erupted in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, with sustained bursts of automatic weapons fire starting around 4 a.m., the Associated Press reported. The Al Jazeera network showed footage of bodies being pulled on the street. “The report might have cooled risk sentiment in the market a bit,” said Kengo Suzuki, manager of the foreign bond department in Tokyo at Mizuho Securities Co. “That’s why growth-related currencies like the Aussie and kiwi have been trading heavy. But it’s also too uncertain to price in the current situation in Egypt.” Cyclone Yasi Demand for the Aussie was also limited as Cyclone Yasi, with winds more powerful than those of Hurricane Katrina, struck the nation’s northeast coastline today. The cyclone came just weeks after the worst floods in 50 years hit the state of Queensland. “The cyclone will probably further dent March quarter gross domestic product following the floods in January,” Kate King, a Sydney-based senior economist at St. George Bank Ltd., wrote in a research note today. Yasi has been downgraded to a Category two storm, Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology said on its website. Australian bond futures fell. The 10-year contract for March delivery declined 0.06 to 94.380 on the Sydney Futures Exchange. The implied yield gained to 5.62 percent. New Zealand’s two-year swap rate, a fixed payment made to receive floating rates which is sensitive to interest-rate expectations rose five basis points to 3.795 percent. To contact the reporter on this story: Monami Yui in Tokyo at myui1@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Rocky Swift at rswift5@bloomberg.net.

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