The Australian and New Zealand dollars lost ground against a broadly firmer euro on Monday after Cyprus secured a financial bailout that will help prevent a collapse of its banking system. The news was positive for risk assets and saw the Australasian currencies outperform the dollar and yen. But the biggest gainer was the euro, which rose more than 0.5 percent at one stage to A$1.2490. Against the kiwi, it climbed roughly 0.5 percent to NZ$1.5624.
Late in the local session, the euro was at A$1.2475 and NZ$1.5619, well off 3-1/2 month lows around A$1.2335 and NZ$1.5445 plumbed last week. The Aussie was last up 0.1 percent at $1.0449. The kiwi crept up to $0.8362, matching a one-month high hit on Friday. Against the yen, the Aussie rose 0.4 percent to 99.05 while kiwi also gained 0.4 percent to 79.15.