AAP

Gold prices have fallen more than one per cent, touching its lowest level in more than three months in what looks to be an eighth straight losing session as a robust US dollar and expectations of higher US interest rates curbed appetite for the metal.

Plans to merge Perth's local councils will finally be officially shelved this week.

Gina Rinehart's $US10 billion Roy Hill iron ore project is expected to begin shipping ore in six months and ramp up to 55 million tonnes per annum within 30 months, according to chief executive Barry Fitzgerald.

The Australian share market has closed lower but has clawed back some earlier heavy losses linked to US interest rate rise fears.

The Australian sharemarket has plunged as weak commodities prices drag on the miners and energy players.

A senior central banker has suggested interest rates could be cut again.

The Australian dollar has hit a fresh six-year low as the weakest business confidence in almost two years reminds traders another interest rate cut is likely.

A stronger dollar has pushed oil prices sharply lower, adding to fierce pressure on the market from a global supply glut.

Gold has fallen to a three-month low, pressured by the US dollar's rise to its highest in nearly 12 years and renewed expectations of a midyear interest rate increase in the United States.

The Dow has dumped more than 330 points on renewed worries about higher interest rates and the soaring dollar.

The share market has closed relatively flat as the mining and energy sectors fell on the latest Chinese inflation data and lower iron ore prices.

Car makers and the component industry will get to keep $500 million in funding after a backdown by the Abbott government.

The Australian sharemarket is higher buoyed by strength from the major banks and despite weakness in the resources sector.

The Australian dollar is firmer as traders seek profit by selling a recently resurgent greenback.

Wall Street stocks have notched solid gains following the launch of Apple's smartwatch and a General Motors announcement of $US5 billion ($A6.4 billion) in share buybacks.

Oil prices have finished mixed in a market held back by a strong US dollar and persistent concerns about the global oversupply of crude.

Gold has steadied as the US dollar rally paused and European shares fell, but it remains near a three-month low after a US jobs report boosted expectations that the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates soon.

The Australian share market has tumbled, with investors wary of increased chances of an interest rate hike in the US.

One small step for National Australia Bank has become a giant leap for gender equality, after it became the latest company to offer lengthy paid parental leave to new dads.

Iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group is calling on business leaders to create more opportunities for indigenous Australians to end the jobs' disparity.

Tony Abbott says his government has no plans to allow young people to use superannuation to buy their first home - but is happy for the idea to be debated.

Four toxic cane toads have been found in a truck carrying sandalwood at a Perth freight depot.

Junking Centrelink's antiquated computer system could save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said in Perth today.

Job advertisements have risen for the ninth month in a row, but ANZ Banking Group still expects the Reserve Bank of Australia to cut interest rates at its next meeting.

The Australian sharemarket has fallen after US markets closed lower on increased prospects of an American interest rate rise.

Gold has fallen nearly three per cent to a three-month low after stronger-than-expected US non-farm payrolls fuelled expectation the Federal Reserve will raise rates sooner rather than later, and the US dollar jumped to an 11-and-a-half-year high.

The Australian dollar has sunk to its lowest level in six years following surprisingly strong US jobs figures.

The Australian share market has closed slightly lower after weaker iron ore prices weighed on the resources sector and investors await the release of jobs data in the US.

The share market has opened flat as strength in high-yield bank stocks is balanced out by weak energy and mining sectors.

Gold has eased, changing direction and falling below $US1,200 an ounce as short-covering dried up after buoying prices following the European Central Bank's (ECB) announcement that it will lift its 2016 inflation forecast.

The Australian dollar has dropped back below 78 US cents following a surge in the greenback and suggestions that the Reserve Bank is willing and able to cut rates again.

US stocks have snapped a two-day losing streak, finishing higher on news of European monetary stimulus and a $21 billion pharmaceutical merger.