NEW YORK - November 2, 2009 - The dollar slid against high-yielding currencies, led by the Australian dollar, as China reported a surge in manufacturing and investors bet that factory production in the U.S. would accelerate. Oil, copper and gold climbed.

The so-called Aussie advanced versus 15 of the 16 most traded currencies as of 10:12 a.m. in London, and the Swedish krona gained against all 16. Oil added 1% in New York while copper rose 0.7% in London and gold rallied 0.8%. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index increased 0.7%, indicating the benchmark gauge for U.S. equities may rebound from its steepest weekly drop since May.

Manufacturing in China expanded at the fastest pace in 18 months, according to a purchasing managers’ index from HSBC Holdings Plc. The U.S. Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index probably climbed to the highest level in three years, a Bloomberg News survey showed. Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan today increased the government’s forecast for growth, fueling speculation the central bank will raise interest rates tomorrow for the second consecutive month.

“The markets have taken a step back and said: hold on, the global economy is recovering and we’re not in an environment where risk aversion is going to shoot up on a sustained basis,” said Daragh Maher, the London-based deputy head of global currency strategy at Calyon, the investment-banking arm of Credit Agricole SA.