Australia’s central bank is under intensifying pressure to cut interest rates next week as iron ore, the nation’s biggest export, plunges to a decade low. Traders’ bets that the Reserve Bank of Australia will lower its cash rate by a quarter percentage point to a new record low of 2 percent have doubled to an 80 percent chance from 40 percent two weeks ago, swaps data compiled by Bloomberg show. Iron ore, which fell 47 percent last year, is headed for the biggest quarterly loss since at least 2009 as surging low-cost supplies swamp the global market while growth in demand from China slows. A third of Australia’s ... (full story)