The Australian and New Zealand dollars were lower against the US dollar on Wednesday as a mix of soft data and profit taking knocked the commodity currencies off recent highs. The Aussie was around $0.9232 from $0.9246 in late New York trade, after it had scaled a four-and-a-half month high of $0.9310 on Tuesday in the aftermath of the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) monthly policy review.
The central bank, as expected, held rates at 2.5 percent, and suggested it was likely to be on hold for some months, while it had little new to say on the exchange rate. It ebbed a little further to a low of $0.9223 after data showed a 5 percent fall in building approvals in February, twice market expectations.
The Aussie's decline was cushioned by a 0.3 percent gain against the kiwi to a one-month high of NZ$1.0746, and its revisiting of a near 10-month peak versus the yen at 95.97 yen. The New Zealand dollar fell to a one-week low of $0.8590, after it had hit a two-and-a-half year high of $0.8702 overnight, as it mirrored a decline in the Aussie and a weak dairy auction offered a pretext to book profits. It last traded at $0.8600.
Against the greenback, near-term support for the kiwi was at $0.8590/00, with resistance at $0.8650 ahead of a solid barrier at the overnight high of $0.8702. New Zealand government bonds were trading with a soft tone, with yields up to 7.5 basis points higher. Australian government bond futures eased, with the three-year bond contract down 5 ticks to 96.870, and the 10-year contract 4.5 points to 95.815.
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