The Australian dollar rose to its strongest in seven weeks before a report tomorrow economists say will show employers added jobs for a sixth month, spurring expectations for an interest-rate increase in April.

New Zealand’s dollar rose to a two-week high against the yen after a Chinese report today showed exports increased the most in three years. The so-called Aussie also touched a 25-year high against the pound and the strongest since 1997 versus the euro as central bank Assistant Governor Philip Lowe said growth will likely be at or above average the next couple of years.

“All the data out of China exceeded expectations and what’s important is exports are advancing,” said Daisuke Karakama, a market economist in Tokyo at Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd., Japan’s second-largest publicly traded lender. “It will be a supportive factor for commodity currencies such as the Aussie and kiwi in the long term.”

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The comparatively high interest rate paid on yuan deposits and expectations the currency will rise are likely to attract greater inflows of investment capital, the director of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said in a statement cited by various reports. The premium on one-year yuan deposits over their U.S.-dollar deposit equivalents has reached 1.43 percentage points, according to a report by Bloomberg News.

Yi Gang, the director of SAFE and a vice governor of the People's Bank of China, said the agency will strengthen its supervision of unusual cross-border fund inflows and steadily promote yuan convertibility under the capital account.

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The dollar gained on the yen but withered against currencies most tied to global growth, as a better-than-expected U.S. jobs report pointed to a recovery that continues to gain traction. The euro crept higher against the dollar, but lingering concerns over fiscally strapped Greece kept the common currency in a tight range against the greenback.

The rosier jobs numbers poured "jet fuel" on investors' bets on riskier assets, said Alan Ruskin, global head of currency strategy for RBS Securities in Stamford, Conn. The Australian and New Zealand dollars, two currencies associated closely with global growth because of their commodity-led economies' ...

U.S. President Barack Obama has said recently that he will take a tough stance on the issue of the Chinese yuan exchange rate against the U.S. dollar, and that it will be a priority topic in the next round of U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue. A report released by the International Monetary Fund Monday at a G20 ministers meeting in Seoul also stated that the yuan is "seriously undervalued." Pressure is mounting for China to allow its currency to appreciate.

It is widely assumed that an undervalued yuan results in a huge trade surplus for China every year and in an imbalance in international trade. According to the Washington-based Peterson Institute for International Economics, the yuan is 40 percent undervalued against the U.S. dollar and 30 percent lower in value against other major currencies.

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A vast difference is existing in exchange rates of Afghan and US currencies in commercial banks and open market in this central capital of Kabul. Some local banks charge as much as 0.20 to one afghani a dollar against 0.02 to 0.10 afs by private currency dealers. Economic experts said the difference in exchange rates between banks and currency dealers was causing losses to common people.

The Kabul Bank on its web site stated the exchange rate of one US dollar was 47.30afs, but the rate was 48afs per dollar in the open market. The Azizi Bank, another private bank, offers 47.30 and 47.60 the selling and buying rates per dollar respectively. The Bakhtar Bank on its website published the selling and buying rates as 47.35 and 47.60afs per dollar respectively.

The Maiwand Bank, on the other hand, is offering 47.26afs for buying and 47.22afs for selling a dollar. The exchange rates mentioned on the web site of the central bank, Da Afghanistan Bank, is 47.38 buying and 47.52 selling. However, the rates offered at the Shahzada Serai, a private exchange market, is different than offered by the local banks. Haji Muhammad Rafi, money changer in the Shahzada Money Market, told Pajhwok Afghan News there was around 0.80afs difference in the rates of banks and open market.

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The short sellers made a killing on the euro. Now they're stalking the pound. The fiscal woes of southern European nations such as Greece and Spain have preoccupied investors and political leaders for weeks.

But the spotlight is now also on Britain, amid concerns its deficit is out of control and that no clear winner will emerge from the spring election.

A wild, two-hour trading session pushed the pound down almost 4 cents against the U.S. dollar Monday morning, taking it below $1.50 (U.S.), its lowest level since May. By the end of the session, the pound had declined 1.6 per cent against the dollar from its level at the end of last week, taking it to $1.49. It dropped 1.2 per cent against the euro. British government bonds, known as gilts, also got caught up in sterling's punishing ride.

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 Yuan forwards strengthened after a local newspaper reported that the government is assessing the likely impact of currency gains, fueling speculation appreciation will be allowed to resume. Government bonds rose.

China is carrying out stress tests on labor-intensive industries to gauge the effect a stronger yuan would have on earnings, the 21st Century Business Herald reported today, citing unidentified officials. The yuan’s value has been kept at about 6.83 per dollar since July 2008, following a 21 percent advance over three years, as policy makers intervened to help exporters weather a global recession.

“Investors may speculate the resumption in yuan appreciation is around the corner,” said Li Wei, an economist at Standard Chartered Plc in Shanghai. Twelve-month non-deliverable forwards rose 0.1 percent to 6.6595 per dollar as of 11:34 a.m. in Hong Kong, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The contracts indicate bets the yuan will rise 2.5 percent from the spot rate of 6.8266.

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The New Zealand dollar tumbled against the greenback overnight as investors moved away from riskier assets. Earlier today the kiwi briefly dropped below US69c, and by 8am had recovered only slightly to US69.11c.

At 5pm yesterday it was buying US70.20c. "The currency moves overnight were especially vicious, with many key levels getting taken out, causing further downward moves," ANZ said today.

"Risk assets were under the hammer overnight, as investors exited equities, commodities and high yielding currencies, and made a mad dash into the relative safety of US Treasuries." The US dollar had been the clear winner, although only by default, with the yen gaining as well, ANZ said.

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The dollar may fall against Japan’s currency to as low as 87 yen next month as investors reduce bets that the Federal Reserve will raise its benchmark interest rate, according to JPMorgan & Chase Co. The dollar’s drop to the weakest level since Dec.

2 versus the yen will come as the U.S. economic recovery moderates and the central bank keeps borrowing costs on hold this year, JPMorgan estimates. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said yesterday rates may stay close to zero through the end of the year if the economy expands as forecast.

“The dollar’s weakening trend against a wide range of currencies will come back,” said Tohru Sasaki, the Tokyo-based chief currency strategist at JPMorgan. “Investors’ expectations of a Fed rate hike are still excessive.”

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The dollar fell against the euro on prospects the Federal Reserve will hold its target interest rate near zero to sustain a recovery in the world’s biggest economy. The U.S. currency dropped against the yen for a third day on speculation Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke will tell Congress tomorrow that last week’s increase in the discount rate isn’t intended to drive up borrowing costs.

The euro was near an 11- month low versus the Swiss franc as the International Monetary Fund sent a staff member to Athens to provide assistance, adding to concern over the nation’s debt crisis. The yen rose against Brazil’s real and the South Korean won as Asian stocks fell.

“Fed rate-hike expectations have continued to ease,” said Mike Jones, a currency strategist at Bank of New Zealand Ltd. in Wellington. “This is providing something of a drag for the dollar.” The dollar fell to $1.3620 per euro at 1:17 p.m. in Tokyo from $1.3596 in New York yesterday. It touched $1.3444 on Feb. 19, the highest since May 18. The greenback fetched 91.03 yen from 91.14 yen. The yen was at 124.00 per euro from 123.92.

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