US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Asia-Pacific nations need “market-oriented” currencies that are in line with their economic fundamentals to encourage new sources of growth.

Australian employers unexpectedly added workers in October, pushing the nation’s currency to its highest level this year on speculation the central bank will raise interest rates for a record third straight month.

The number of people employed rose 24,500 from September, the statistics bureau said in Sydney. The median estimate of 20 economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for a decline of 10,000. The jobless rate rose to 5.8 percent from 5.7 percent.

Asia’s infrastructure is under-funded and the region must boost domestic demand and investment to help drive growth in the medium term, Singapore’s Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said today.