AAP

The Australian dollar has fallen sharply against its US counterpart and is back below 76 US cents after leaping on Thursday to a two-month high.

Oil prices have settled lower for a second straight day, with the market unable to rebound from Wednesday's decline on the back of a surprise build in US petrol inventories and ongoing worries about heavy global supply.

Gold has fallen to a three-week low, weighed down by a stronger US dollar as investors began to assess the potential for another US rate hike later in the year, supported by data showing a strong US jobs market.

A South Korean consortium has emerged as the likely new owner of troubled steelmaker Arrium after being chosen as the preferred bidder by the Whyalla-based company's administrators.

After two days of strong gains, the share market has dropped sharply, as investors took profits and weaker oil prices dragged down energy stocks.

An unexpected surge in full-time employment has driven Australia's jobless rate to a four-year low, meaning a Reserve Bank interest rate cut is now off the table, economists say.

The Australian share market has dipped in early trade ahead of local jobs figures and following a mixed lead from Wall Street.

The Australian dollar is higher against its US counterpart which has fallen amid disappointing US economic data.

Crude oil prices have slumped nearly 4 per cent to their lowest close in seven months, hit by an unexpected large build in petrol inventories and an international outlook that suggests a big increase in supply in the coming year.

Gold has turned negative after the Federal Reserve increased interest rates but was less dovish than expected following a two-day meeting, and the US dollar sharply pared its losses against a basket of major currencies.

The share market has posted a second straight day of strong gains as the major banks continue to rebound.

Perth Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi has admitted there are inaccuracies in her statement submitted to the State Administrative Tribunal, which is holding a hearing to determine her penalty for breaching local government laws.

The WA Industrial Relations Commission has ruled that the state's minimum wage should increase by 2.3 per cent, one week after the Fair Work Commission lifted award rates applying nationally by 3.3 perc ent.

Ten Network Holdings' newly appointed administrators have pledged to keep the business running as they decide its future, saying they are confident of either rebuilding the broadcaster's finances or finding a willing buyer.

The Australian share market has lifted to its highest level in a month in early trade, with gains in all sectors except miners following tech stock-led gains on Wall Street overnight.

The Australian dollar is lower against its US counterpart, pulling back from a multi-week high amid a sharp fall in the price of iron ore .

Oil prices have settled higher after OPEC detailed supply cuts around the world, but the cartel also said overall production rose in May, and crude stayed well below $US50 a barrel despite the modest recovery.

Gold has turned slightly higher, as the market awaits signals of future monetary tightening by the US Federal Reserve and a Senate panel's questioning of Attorney General Jeff Sessions about his dealings with Russian officials.

A strong performance by the big banks has helped the Australian share market post its best session since November.

The state government has bowed to public pressure and dumped plans to move Perth's only academically selective school to a high-rise city building in favour of constructing another secondary school on a park in Subiaco.

Ten Network must find new financiers or face the possibility of going into administration after billionaire shareholders Lachlan Murdoch and Bruce Gordon refused to back a new funding deal for the loss-making commercial free-to-air broadcaster.

The Crown Resorts employees detained in China have all been charged with the illegal promotion of gambling on the Chinese mainland.

The Australian share market has bounced back from its previous session's fall that rounded off its worst week in seven months, and has opened higher.

Oil has edged up on signs of inventory declines in the US and news that Saudi Arabia will limit volumes of crude to some Asian buyers in July and deepen cuts to the United States.

Strong speculative demand has kept palladium near 16-year highs, though weak fundamentals are soon expected to take their toll on prices of the metal, which is used to make autocatalysts for petrol-fuelled cars.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will face a showdown over the merits of a proposed clean energy target when government MPs meet tomorrow.

The Perth Children's Hospital is unlikely to open by the new September deadline but progress is being made treating lead contamination at the facility, the state's health minister says.

Outgoing BHP Billiton chairman Jacques Nasser has been named a companion of the order of Australia, while Qantas boss Alan Joyce has also been honoured in the Queen's birthday honours.

The former operators of Quest serviced apartments in South Perth have been fined almost $59,000 for a sham contracting arrangement designed to bypass industrial relations laws.

The Australian share market has ended slightly higher, buoyed by mining stocks, while the poor showing for the ruling Conservative Party in the UK election has given the Aussie dollar a boost against the pound. 

ANZ Banking Group is raising variable rates on its interest-only mortgages by 0.3 percentage points as it reins in riskier lending in response to regulatory changes.

State premiers have rejected reform measures to the GST carve-up put forward by Mark McGowan, who is lobbying for Western Australia to get a fairer share of the tax's revenue.