Australian and New Zealand dollars hold gains

The Australian and New Zealand dollars struggled to make much headway in a choppy session on Tuesday as a surge in Spanish bond yields jangled investors' nerves, putting the brakes on a corrective bounce in risk assets. The Aussie last stood at $0.9852, exactly where it started the session, having survived a test of $0.9802 earlier.
It had rallied 1 percent on Monday to a one-week high of $0.9871 on the hope Greece may avoid a messy euro zone exit. But investors were wary of pushing the currency higher after Spanish government bond yields surged, raising fears Spain may fall victim to the debt crisis.
The New Zealand dollar also weathered a brief retreat mid-session to a low of $0.7578 from its local open of $0.7615. It last stood at $0.7621 versus $0.7616 in early trade. The Antipodean currencies have been hit hard since the escalation of the Greek crisis, losing more than 5 percent each so far this month. Risk sentiment is likely to remain fragile until Athens' hold general elections on June 17.