The Australian dollar recovered from a near 1-month low on Friday on the back of buoyant commodity prices and a record government bond sale, while the pound tumbled on lingering worries about a "hard Brexit." The Australian dollar rose 0.4 percent to $0.7601 for its third straight day of gains. It is slightly up on the week, defying the strength in the greenback which rose on growing expectations of a rate rise in the United States by year-end.
The Aussie was flat on its New Zealand counterpart, not far from a more than two-month peak hit earlier in the week. The New Zealand dollar edged up from a 2-1/2 month trough to trade at $0.7117. It was heading for its second weekly fall as expectations increased for another rate cut by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.
New Zealand government bonds slipped, sending yields 1 basis point higher across the curve. Australian government bond futures eased, with the three-year bond contract down 4 ticks at 98.29. The 10-year contract fell 2.5 ticks to 97.755. The Australian government this week issued its longest and largest syndicated deal ever, at A$7.6 billion with 65 percent of bonds going to foreigners.
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) highlighted a revival in prices for resource exports when it left interest rates unchanged this month, after cuts in August and May. The futures market has recently also slashed the probability of another rate cut this year. "Higher bulk commodity prices...could eliminate the trade deficit in Australia," said Shane Oliver, chief economist, at AMP Capital. "Given this, along with reasonable economic growth and the rising prospect of a December US rate hike taking upwards pressure off the A$, the probability of a November RBA rate cut is rapidly collapsing."