SYDNEY: The Australian and New Zealand dollars were under pressure on Thursday as hawkish comments from the Federal Reserve gave their US counterpart a lift, while intervention fears supported the Japanese yen.

The kiwi dollar also broke support at $0.5986 to reach its lowest since mid-November at $0.5981. It now risks a retreat to $0.5941 and $0.5863.

The Aussie eased 0.1% to $0.6528, leaving it uncomfortably close to chart support in the $0.6504/10 area. A break of the latter would risk a return to February’s trough of $0.6443. Both took a hit from a warning by Fed Governor Christopher Waller that there was no rush to reduce US interest rates and fewer cuts might be needed this year given the resilience of the economy. Data from Australia showed consumers continued to struggle as retail sales edged up 0.3% in February, missing forecasts of a 0.4% gain. Annual growth remained well below population growth, implying sales per capita continue to fall.