The Australian and New Zealand dollars nursed losses versus their US counterpart on Friday following a commodities rout, but were on track for hefty weekly gains against a soggy pound. The Australian dollar dropped to $0.7431, the weakest this week, having skidded more than a full US cent in one session. Much of the fall in the Aussie came after crude oil prices tumbled 5 percent on Thursday, along with a slide in prices of iron ore, Australia's top export earner. Chart resistance at 75 cents also undermined the Aussie.
Support was found at $0.7420, then $0.7329 touched earlier this month. The New Zealand dollar was also soft at $0.7013, having shed 0.4 percent overnight, pulling away from a one-month peak of $0.7059 touched on Wednesday. It was still up 1.2 percent for the week. The Andipodean currencies fared better against Sterling after UK growth data added to worries the economy was beginning to struggle a year after Britain's shock vote to leave the European Union.
The pound eased to A$1.7340, away from a peak near A$1.7500. It has dropped 0.7 percent so far this week. It lost even more ground against the Kiwi dollar to NZ$1.8359, to be down 2.4 percent for the week. If sustained, it would be the second-largest loss this year. The kiwi dollar was a clear outperformer against its Aussie cousin, which slipped to a three-month trough of NZ$1.0571 . The Aussie, last at NZ$1.0589 was on track for a 1.7 percent drop this week.
Australian government bond futures climbed to six-month highs, with the three-year bond contract up 1 tick to 98.290. The 10-year contract added 1 tick to 97.5450, while the 20-year contract was steady at 96.9700. The spread between Australian and US 2-year government bonds shrank to 29 basis points, the smallest since 2001.
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