Australia Rates on Hold; Aussie Dollar Falls

Chandrasekhar Atreya
05 Oct, 2010
New York City

The benchmark index in Australia in a volatile trading closed lower as the RBA left key interest rate on hold. The rates have been left unchanged for the fifth time this year. Vehicle sales and job ads rise in September, while retail sales growth slows in August.

[R]6:00 PM Sydney, Australia – The benchmark index in Australia in a volatile trading closed lower as the RBA left key interest rate on hold. The rates have been left unchanged for the fifth time this year. Vehicle sales and job ads rise in September, while retail sales growth slows in August.[/R]

At the end of volatile session, stocks in Sydney closer lower. The benchmark index opened sharply lower on the weakness in international markets and rallied after the RBA left the key rate unchanged. However, investors shied away in the late afternoon. The Australian dollar declined 0.8%.

The ASX 200 Index lost 0.40% or 18.40 to close at 4,606.90.

The Reserve Bank of Australia kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged for a fifth meeting in a row judging that inflation is a lesser risk to the local economy than a faltering global recovery.

The Australian dollar fell while bonds rose after the rate decision by the RBA in the afternoon. The Australian dollar traded at 95.72 U.S. cents at 2:40 p.m. AEDT, down from 96.70 U.S. cents just prior to the announcement at 2:30 p.m. The dollar closed at 95.93 U.S. cents and declined 0.8%.

Thailand’s Banpu Minerals extended the date of its $2.4 billion acquisition offer of Centennial Coal by one week and declared the offer as final. The offer which was slated to close on October 5 will now close on October 12.

“The offer price of $6.20 cash for each Centennial share is final and will not be increased. In the event Banpu Minerals achieves ownership interest in Centennial of 90% or more, it will proceed with the compulsory acquisition of all Centennial shares it doesn’t own or for which it hasn’t received acceptances under the offer,” Banpu said in a statement on Tuesday..

Sales of passenger cars, utility and commercial vehicles rose 8.9% in September from a year ago, to 85,054 units, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries said Tuesday.

Vehicle sales were 780,720 in the year till September, an increase of 14.5% from the same period in the prior year.

Retail sales in Australia rose a lower than expected 0.3% in August to A$20.46 billion from A$20.41 billion in July, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday.

The balance on trade in goods and services widened to a surplus of A$2.35 billion in August from a surplus of A$1.74 billion in July, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday.

Engineering and construction group Clough said they along with their partner BAM International have received a contract for $53 million for fabrication and construction of a LNG condensate offloading jetty in Papua New Guinea.

The number of jobs advertised online and in newspapers rose for the fifth month in a row in September, increasing the chance of pulling the jobless rate below 5% by the end of the year, a survey showed.

The ANZ Job Advertisements Survey showed the total number of jobs advertised in major metropolitan newspapers and on the internet rose by 0.7% in the month, to a seasonally adjusted average of 177,380 ads per week.

QR National was assigned a BBB+ credit rating as it prepares for its initial public offering.

Resource Daily

Alara Resources said Tuesday they will acquire a 50% stake in the advanced Khnaiguiyah zinc-copper project that lies adjacent to Mutiyah zinc-copper project in Saudi Arabia.

Equatorial Resources signed an agreement with state-owned and operated rail company Chemin de Fer Congo-Ocean to use the Mayoko to Pointe-Noire rail line.

Boss Energy entered a binding agreement to acquire the Tounte and Eastern Permits projects in northeastern Burkina Faso through the purchase of Askia Gold.

Base Metals said Tuesday it intersected a zone of strong alteration and base metal sulphide mineralization to the east of the Fossey deposit at the Hellyer mine project in Tasmania.

Gainers & Losers

Lynas Corp led the gainers in ASX with a rally of 7.63% to A$1.41 followed by St Barbara Ltd 3.85% to A$0.405, Abacus Property Group 3.57% to A$0.435, Southern Cross Media Group Ltd 2.48% to A$2.07 and Iluka Resources Ltd 2.45% to A$6.28.

Murchison Metals Ltd led decliners in the index with a fall of 4.91% to A$1.55 followed by Mirabela Nickel Ltd 4.45% to A$1.61, Isoft Group Ltd 4% to A$0.12, David Jones Ltd 3.94% to A$4.87 and White Energy Co Ltd 3.62% to A$3.99.