The Australian and New Zealand dollars gave ground to a broadly firmer US dollar on Monday, but losses were limited as last week's raft of euro zone downgrades fed a bid for safe-haven government debt. Demand for Australia's triple-A rated bonds was so strong that 10-year futures jumped 0.155 points to 96.265, close to an all-time peak of 96.300 struck on December 30. They were last at 96.250, while the three-year futures contract gained 0.14 points to 96.870.
Debt from Australia, now one of only 14 countries with the top rating from S&P, is considered relatively safe given the government's strong fiscal position. That has been attracting heavy demand from foreign investors who hold more than 70 percent of all the debt on issue.
The Australian dollar was last at $1.0277, 0.3 percent lower for the day. The New Zealand dollar was last at $0.7935, a touch below where it ended last week at $0.7945, and up from a low of $0.7867 offshore. The Aussie hovered around NZ$1.2953 against the kiwi, not far from 10-week lows of NZ$1.2910 hit last week.