The Australian and New Zealand dollars drifted lower on Wednesday, trimming overnight gains in an absence of major economic data and as investors were reluctant to take aggressive positions a day ahead of key Australian employment figures. Both Antipodean currencies had squeezed higher overnight in a wave of short covering as a further drop in US Treasury yields weighed on the greenback.
The Australian dollar last traded at $0.8793, down 0.3 percent on the day. It had risen as high as $0.8835 overnight as it corrected from last week's slide to a four-year low of $0.8642. Demand for the US dollar in the wake of strong US jobs data last Friday has quickly reversed as US yields stayed stubbornly low amid worries about global growth.
Those concerns were reinforced on Tuesday by a plunge in German industrial output and when the IMF cut its global growth forecasts again. "While traders remain bullish on the greenback over the long term, the short-term view is a bit muddy as forex market volatility continues to pick-up," said Stephen Innes, Senior Trader at OANDA Asia Pacific.
Investors were also cautious after Australia's official statistician said it is making changes to employment figures for the past three months due to an absence of seasonal patterns usually seen in July, August and September. That could, on the face of it, show far fewer jobs were created in August than first reported. The September figures are due on Thursday.
Across the Tasman Sea, the New Zealand dollar edged down 0.3 percent to $0.7808, off a high of $0.7873 hit offshore. The kiwi remained under selling pressure against the Aussie, which rose to a 1-1/2 week high of NZ$1.1280. The kiwi has suffered across the board as investors dumped the currency on falling global dairy prices, a pause in the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's monetary tightening cycle and kiwi-selling intervention by the central bank.
Many market participants anticipate the kiwi will weaken further as expectations for US rate rises heat up in the coming months, with many analysts seeing the possibility of a fall towards $0.7500 before the year is out. A break of $0.7670, the kiwi's 2013 trough, would open the door to such a move, although traders said demand for the currency around $0.7700, may offer near-term support.
Australian government bonds tracked a rally in US Treasuries, with three-year bond futures up 4 ticks at 97.350. The 10-year contract rose 7 ticks to 96.645, leading to a flattening of the yield curve. New Zealand government bond yields fell as much as 6.5 basis points across the curve, pushing the 10-year yield down to 4.080 percent, matching a 14-month low hit in September.
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