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The Australian and New Zealand dollars extended weekly gains as a report that the European Central Bank is exchanging Greek bonds for new securities raised prospects that Greece will get its second bailout, boosting demand for riskier assets.

The New Zealand dollar advanced after Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard said the country’s economic performance may be understated. The so-called Aussie touched a six-month high against the yen as Asian stocks extended a global rally. Demand for the South Pacific currencies was also supported before U.S. data today expected add to evidence of growth in the world’s biggest economy.

“There is still strong momentum behind” the Australian dollar, said Janu Chan, an economist at St. George Bank Ltd. in Sydney. “The developments in Greece are positive. I think in terms of Europe, it’s more likely that the news will be more positive than negative that the deal goes through.”

Australia’s dollar added 0.2 percent to $1.0775 as of 2:43 p.m. in Sydney. It’s set for a 1 percent gain this week. The Aussie gained 0.3 percent to 85.18 yen, after earlier touching 85.50, the highest since Aug. 2.

New Zealand’s dollar rose 0.5 percent to 83.69 U.S. cents, headed for a 1.3 percent weekly gain. The so-called kiwi advanced 0.6 percent to 66.18 yen.

Australia’s government bonds declined, pushing the yield on the 10-year security up 10 basis points, or 0.10 percentage point, to 4.03 percent. New Zealand’s two-year swap rate, a fixed payment made to receive floating rates, rose 4 1/2 basis points to 2.96 percent.

Greek Bond Swap
The ECB is swapping its Greek government bond holdings for new Greek bonds, three euro-area officials said on condition of anonymity. One said the bonds have a face value of about 50 billion euros ($66 billion). The swap may be completed by Feb. 20 and could pave the way for a private-sector bond swap that aims to slice about 100 billion euros off Greece’s debt.

New Zealand’s economic performance may be understated compared to that of other nations because of the country’s “conservative statistics interpretations,” Bollard said in e- mailed notes for a speech to the Trans Tasman Business Circle in Auckland today.

Gross domestic product may be as much as 10 percent higher than official data relative to other nations, he said.

New Zealand’s Treasury Department yesterday lowered its forecasts for economic growth in the year through March 31, 2013, to 2.8 percent from the 3.4 percent pace predicted in October, citing a weaker global outlook and delays in rebuilding the earthquake-damaged South Island city of Christchurch.

RBNZ Policy
Traders are betting New Zealand’s central bank will raise rates 0.13 percentage point over the next 12 months, according to a Credit Suisse Group AG index based on swaps. On Feb. 6, bets went from a projected cut to an increase. The RBNZ has kept the official cash rate at a record-low 2.5 percent since March.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) of stocks advanced 1 percent after the MSCI World Index rose 0.4 percent yesterday. The Thomson Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index (CRY) of raw materials gained 0.5 percent yesterday.

In the U.S., an index of leading indicators probably rose 0.5 percent in January, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News before a report from the New York-based Conference Board today. The research group’s gauge of the outlook for the next three-to-six months climbed 0.4 percent in December.

Economists in a separate Bloomberg poll said consumer prices probably increased 0.3 percent in January. The Labor Department reports its figures today.

“In the U.S., the run of economic data has been more upbeat,” said St. George’s Chan. “That generally continues to paint the picture that the U.S. economy remains in the improvement lane.”