AUD Lower On Weak Chinese PMI, Commodities Mixed

Australia’s currency and 10-year bonds dropped after a Chinese manufacturing gauge fell to a four-month low, while the yen held its worst annual decline since 1979 versus the dollar. Oil rose the first time in three days as gold maintained its first yearly retreat in 13 years.

Australia’s dollar, dubbed the Aussie, lost 0.2 percent from Dec. 31 to 89 U.S. cents by 11:22 a.m. in Sydney, while 10-year government debt yields rose six basis points to 4.3 percent. The nation’s stocks climbed. The yen was at 105.29 per dollar, near the weakest level since 2008. Oil in New York gained 0.3 percent to $98.73 a barrel. Gold was little changed following 2013’s 28 percent slide. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (SPX) surged 30 percent last year, the most since 1997.

HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics Ltd. issue manufacturing gauges for nations from China to India today, after the official Chinese index dropped more than analysts estimated in December. Shipments of iron ore from northern Australia, home to the biggest ore-export port, have resumed as a cyclone in the the region waned. Investors favored developed-market stocks last year as the global economy improved, with the Federal Reserve to start cutting stimulus this month.

Bloomberg

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