The Australian and New Zealand currencies crept off two-week lows on Tuesday as a short-covering rally in the dollar eased and Australia's central bank minutes kept intact views for more rate hikes next year. The Australian dollar edged up to $0.9880, from $0.9843 late in New York, having traded in a slim band between $0.9817 and $0.9883, well within Monday's range in what traders call an inside day, which suggests a lack of clear direction.
It found support at around $0.9820 area, a break of which could see the Aussie retest $0.9680, lows not seen since October 29. Since hitting a 28-year high around $1.0183 last week, the Aussie dollar has found the going tough. It has fallen about 3 percent from the peak as the greenback rallied on the back of a spike in US Treasury yields. The New Zealand dollar settled around $0.7730 after briefly dipping to a low of $0.7696. It was capped at $0.7736.
The euro was off the day's lows but still soft against the two currencies. The single currency bought A$1.3800 and NZ$1.7592, having dropped from October highs around A$1.44 and NZ$1.87. The Aussie was steady against the kiwi at NZ$1.2738, after recovering from a two-month low of NZ$1.2692 set on Monday.