The Australian and New Zealand dollars were hovering around one-month lows on Friday as commodities remained under pressure and investors fretted about the chances of further US stimulus, putting the currencies on track to end the month weaker.
But investor caution benefited Australian government bonds, which jumped to one-month highs. Three-year bond futures were last at 97.530, having climbed as far as 97.570. Key resistance was now seen at 97.598, the 50 percent retracement of the June-August decline.
The 10-year contract rose to 97.02, its strongest since August 3, and last stood at 96.965 giving an implied yield of 3.03 percent. The Aussie slipped to $1.0293, from $1.0337 in late trade Thursday, having been as deep as $1.0276 this week. The New Zealand dollar was similarly soggy at $0.7994, from $0.8027 late on Thursday and a five-week low of $0.7970 hit earlier this week.