澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2013-06-12

 The Australian dollar's fallen throughout the day as investors¹ bet against the strength of the Australian economy. Earlier, the Australian dollar slipped to its lowest level in almost three years. It's currently buying 94.04 US cents. Australian shares play catch-up to offshore² gains today after yesterday's break. The All Ordinaries Index ended up 0.4 per cent as did the ASX 200 Index. BHP Billiton managed to end the day flat after earlier losses. Billabong  slumped almost five per cent by the close and the ASX was halted from trade after announcing a capital rising.

 

To commodities.

 

But gold price is  down in the Asian session. West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil is also lower overnight.

 

Mining remains³ the most pessimistic sector⁴ of the Australian economy as investment and prices weaken. National Australia Bank's  monthly business survey says across the economy, confidence remained at below average, at a level of minus-one in May. That's despite the cuts to the cash rate and plunging⁵ dollar. The mining sector dragged the average down.

 

Home loan growth stalled in April, consolidating⁶ the year's gains.Bureau of Statistics data show the number of  mortgages for new owner occupied homes increased by 0.8 of a per cent in the month, on a seasonally⁷ adjusted basis.The figures show the value of all housing finance, though, did slip by 0.2 per cent in the month.

1 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

2 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

5 plunging   

adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• War broke out again, plunging the people into misery and suffering. 战祸复发，生灵涂炭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He is plunging into an abyss of despair. 他陷入了绝望的深渊。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 consolidating   

v.（使）巩固， （使）加强( consolidate的现在分词 )；（使）合并

参考例句：

• These measures are meant for consolidating the system of basic medical care. 这些举措旨在夯实基层医疗体系，让老百姓看大病不必出远门。 来自互联网
• We are consolidating the Chinese and English versions of our homepage. 我们将为您提供中英文版本一起的主页。 来自互联网

7 seasonally   

参考例句：

• The price of vegetables fluctuates seasonally. 蔬菜的价格随季节变动。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They moved seasonally among various vegetation types to feed on plants that were flourishing. 它们还随着季节的变化而在各种类型植物之间迁移，以便吃那些茂盛的植物。 来自辞典例句