| Uk rothschild group 200 years old Original Source Link: (May no longer be active) http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000081&sid=aLM4WvaQzIuM&refer=australiahttp://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000081&sid=aLM4WvaQzIuM&refer=australia
Australian Dollar Drops on Speculation Rate Gap Will Narrow April 14 (Bloomberg) -- Australia's dollar fell for the second day after a report showing U.S. retail sales had the biggest gain in a year spurred speculation the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates, closing the gap between the two countries.
The Reserve Bank of Australia's benchmark interest rate of 5.25 percent is more than five times the Fed's comparable rate. Australian two-year government bonds offer investors an extra 3.35 percentage points of yield than similar maturity U.S. Treasury notes. A surge in consumer spending has boosted expectations the Fed may raise its 1 percent interest rate later this year.
``The very strong retail sales number means the market is now looking to preempt U.S. interest rate hikes,'' said Paul Macarounas, associate director of foreign exchange at N.M. Rothschild & Sons (Australia) Ltd., a unit of the 200-year old U.K. bank Rothschild Group. ``The interest rate story is starting to wane and that will hit the Australian dollar.''
Australia's dollar fell to 75.33 U.S. cents at 8:08 a.m. in Sydney from 76.10 cents in late Asian trading yesterday, a decline of 1 percent. The currency has risen 25 percent in the last year, the biggest gainer of the 16 most traded currencies tracked by Bloomberg.
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