SYDNEY: The Australian and New Zealand dollars held on to overnight gains on Tuesday, supported by a turnaround in the yuan and a broadly weaker greenback as traders await US inflation data to gauge whether interest rates have peaked.
The Aussie was hovering at $0.6432, having added 0.8% overnight to hit a one-week high of $0.6449 and coming out of a narrow range it had been stuck in since plumbing ten-month troughs last week.
Bulls are now eyeing $0.6520.
The kiwi dollar was also steady.
It was trading at $0.5920 after a 0.6% rise overnight to $0.5935.
Near-term resistance stands at $0.5930 and support is strong at a 10-month low of $0.5860 hit last week.
“The improvement in risk appetite, evident by the gains in equity markets along side the appreciation in JPY and CNY, triggered positive spill over effects for the AUD and NZD,” said Rodrigo Catril, senior FX strategist at National Australia Bank.
The Japanese yen and the Chinese yuan jumped on Monday on guidance from their respective central banks, bouncing back after a recent strong run in the US dollar.
Chinese credit data showed a jump in new loans which also aided the yuan.
Down Under, surveys showed Australia’s consumer sentiment remain mired at depressed levels.
Business conditions stayed firm but cost pressures facing companies remained elevated, a result that could add to the case for further tightening by the Reserve Bank of Australia.
In New Zealand, the government, facing an election in October, predicted a larger budget deficit but better-than-expected economic conditions in the year ahead.
The news had little impact on the kiwi.