The Australian dollar took a brief dip on Tuesday after data showed China's factories expanded at a slower pace in October, while the New Zealand dollar tripped after two rare days of gains. The Australian dollar, often traded as a liquid proxy for China plays, was off 0.1 percent at $0.7678, edging closer to 4-month trough of $0.7622 touched last week.
The Aussie has underperformed in recent weeks largely on a resurgent greenback. It has fallen more than 4.5 percent since setting a near 2-1/2-year top of $0.8124 last month. The Aussie is poised for its third straight month of losses in October, but some analysts see its woes coming to an end, at least in the short-term.
"We think the AUD has likely bottomed," ANZ analysts said in a note to clients. "Some consolidation in the USD, along with strong global growth and abundant macro liquidity should keep boosting sentiment and provide a lift to the AUD." The New Zealand dollar has been under much the same pressure, and was last down 0.36 percent at $0.6850.
The kiwi has fallen in seven out of the last 10 sessions and is on track for its worst monthly showing since January 2016. It touched its lowest since May last week at $0.6818, which was also its weakest for the year so far. A break there would take it to territory last trod in June 2016.
New Zealand government bonds gained with yields slipping 5 ticks at the long end and 2 ticks at the short end of the curve. Australian government bond futures rose, with the three-year bond contract up 3 ticks at 97.990. The 10-year contract added 5 ticks to 97.2950. China's official manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 51.6 in October, from 52.4, while the services index eased to 54.3 from 55.4 in September.
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