The Australian and New Zealand currencies held their ground on Wednesday with markets in an uncertain mood following attacks in Brussels that killed at least 30 people. With Asian equity markets suffering only modest declines, the Aussie - usually sold off in times of heightened risk aversion - was a touch higher at $0.7628.
It was little changed against the safe-haven Japanese currency at 85.59 yen, having recovered from a slide to 84.08 overnight. "While the news will likely have limited short-term impact on the global FX markets, traders were busy digesting this tragic event overnight," said Stephen Innes, senior trader at FX and CFD broker OANDA Australia and Asia Pacific.
Given the uncertainty, traders said there is a lack of market conviction. The New Zealand dollar shuffled in a narrow range of $0.6738-$0.6769, near where it closed in New York. The kiwi shed 0.3 percent on the yen to 75.63. Government bonds followed a negative lead from US Treasuries, where prices fell after more Federal Reserve officials advocated hikes in US interest rates this year. New Zealand government bonds eased, sending yields up to 6.5 basis points higher. Australian government bond futures also slipped, with both the three-year and 10-year bond contracts down 6 ticks at 97.970 and 97.3400 respectively.