The Australian and New Zealand dollars climbed on Wednesday, recouping a good chunk of recent losses after upbeat Chinese data helped offset worries about the euro zone debt crisis. China, a major trading partner of Australia and New Zealand, has been tightening policy to fight inflation, raising fears the economy might slow sharply. But today's data helped ease those concerns.
The Aussie jumped nearly half a cent to $1.0640 after a report showed China's annual GDP grew at 9.5 percent in the second quarter, above market whispers of 9.0 percent. It last traded at $1.0623, up from $1.0599 late in New York. The rise helped the Aussie put more distance from a two-week low around $1.0525 plumbed overnight on concerns the euro zone debt crisis would spread to Italy and Spain. Immediate resistance is around $1.0650, the floor of the trading range seen in the last two weeks.
The New Zealand dollar , the worst performer of major currencies overnight, rose to $0.8215, recovering from a dip to two-week lows around $0.8110. Both the Aussie and kiwi also reclaimed lost ground against the yen, with the Aussie rising 0.8 percent on the day to 84.41 yen , well off a near four-month low on Tuesday. Kiwi advanced more than 1 percent to 65.30 yen. The Aussie slightly underperformed the kiwi, easing to NZ$1.2921 from a high around $1.3000 on Tuesday. Still, it held off a six-month low of NZ$1.2789 set on Monday.