Concerns about China's slowing growth and gold's recent descent to a two-year low led to steep losses in the Australian dollar this week, prompting investors in the options market to pile on hedges against further weakness. While the bias in the options market has long been leaning toward a decline of the Aussie versus the U.S. dollar, in recent days investors have upped the ante, fretting about Australia's economic vulnerabilities. Three-month risk reversals, a broad gauge of short-term currency market sentiment in Aussie/U.S. dollar, are skewed toward puts, or the right to sell Aussies at a future date. But on ... (full story)