Dollar Falls Against Aussie, Rand, Real on Interest-Rate Spread

The dollar drop against the
Australian dollar, Brazilian Real and the South African rand on
speculation the interest-rate advantage for currencies of
commodity-exporting states will widen.

The U.S. currency traded near a two-week low against the
euro before studies that volition probably demo the U.S. housing
recession is deepening, bolstering the Federal Soldier Reserve's lawsuit for
lowering its benchmark adoption cost from 3 percent. The
Australian dollar rose to a three-month high after the Reserve
Bank of Commonwealth Of Australia said it considered a bigger addition when
raising its charge per unit to 7 percentage this month.

''The Federal will be forced to cut rates additional to back up the
economy,'' said Yuji Saito, caput of foreign-exchange gross sales in
Tokyo at Societe Generale SA, a unit of measurement of France's second-biggest
bank by marketplace value. ''The dollar looks weak, particularly
against high-yielders such as as Australia's dollar.''

The U.S. dollar drop as much as 0.9 percentage to 92.01 cents
versus Australia's dollar, the last since Nov. 9, before
trading at 91.92 cents at 1:48 p.m. inch Tokyo. It declined 0.3
percent against the rand to 7.5912 and dropped 1.1 percentage to
1.7337 to the real.

The dollar traded small changed at $1.4663 per euro. It
fell to $1.4709 on Feb. 15, the weakest since Feb. 5. The
currency bought 108.15 hankering from 108.23 yen. The Euro was at
158.60 hankering from 158.63. It may worsen to $1.4750 per Euro today,
Saito forecast.

Australian Dollar

The Australian dollar rose against all 16 major currencies
after cardinal depository financial institution Assistant Governor Malcolm Edey said inflation
may speed up and policy shapers considered additional involvement rate
increases.

Minutes from the Modesty Depository Financial Institution of Australia's Feb. Five meeting
published today showed Governor John Glenn Wallace Stevens and his colleagues
discussed raising the benchmark charge per unit by 50 footing points to cool
the fastest rising prices in almost two decades.

''The treatment about pecuniary policy inch the proceedings had a
much sharper sting in the tail as far as the near-term rate
outlook is concerned,'' wrote Saint David Delaware Garis, senior markets
economist at National Commonwealth Of Australia Depository Financial Institution Ltd. in Sydney, in a short letter to
clients. ''We still anticipate a 25 basis-point increase in March and
a 40 percentage opportunity of another.''

The output advantage on Australian two-year enslaveds over
similar-maturity U.S. Treasury Obligations increased to 5.04 percentage
points, the widest since December 1990.

The U.S. dollar have dropped 4.6 percentage versus the euro
since the Federal Soldier Modesty started to cut involvement rates on Sept.
18, the fourth-worst public presentation among the 16 most-active
currencies.

Dollar Weakness

The U.S. National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo
index of housebuilder sentiment may have got held at 19 for a second
month in February, one point above the record low pressure reached in
December, according to a study of economic experts by Bloomberg News,
before the information is released today. U.S. lodging starts remained
near a 16-year low in January, according to a separate Bloomberg
survey before a Commerce Department study tomorrow.

''The dollar is probably going to weaken again inch the near
term,'' said Sir Leslie Stephen Halmarick, co-head of economical and market
analysis at Citigroup Inc. in Sydney, in an interview with
Bloomberg Television. ''Overall, it makes expression like the U.S.
housing marketplace have a small spot of a manner to travel before you could
say the worst is over.''

Futures on the Windy City Board of Trade show a 26 percent
probability that the Federal will take down its mark for overnight
lending between Banks by 0.75 per centum point to 2.25 percentage by
March 18, compared with a 20 percentage opportunity a hebdomad ago. The
remaining likelihood are for a 50 basis-point cut.

Commodity Currencies

The Australian dollar and the South African rand also rose
as terms of natural stuffs the states exportation increased.

The Greater London Metallic Element Exchange index, based on the cost of six
metals including aluminium and copper, advanced 1.9 percent
yesterday to the peak since October.

''A rise in trade goodss terms is pushing up the Australian
dollar and the rand,'' said Norihiro Tsuruta, main strategian of
global investing research at Shinko Research Institute in Tokyo,
a unit of measurement of Japan's second-largest-bank by assets. ''Behind this
rise is that the marketplaces are now correcting inordinate pessimism
about the human race growth.''

Australia's currency may progress to 94 U.S. cents and 101
yen by the end of March, Tsuruta said.

Yields on two-year Australian authorities short letters climbed to an
eight-year high as bargainers increased stakes the Modesty Depository Financial Institution of
Australia will raise rates from 7 percentage on March 4.

''Australia's dollar is the strongest currency now,'' said
Joseph Kraft, caput of working capital marketplaces in Japanese Islands at Dresdner
Kleinwort, the investing depository financial institution owned by Germany's Allianz SE. ''While other cardinal Banks are considering film editing rates, the
RBA is the lone cardinal depository financial institution among major economic systems to head for
rate hikes.''

The currency may lift to 93 U.S. cents this quarter, Kraft
said.

To reach the newsman on this story:
Kosuke Goto in Tokio at at .