The Australian and New Zealand dollars were fighting desperate rearguard actions on Wednesday as strains in emerging markets darkened the outlook for global growth, while a strengthening US currency piled pressure on commodity prices.
The Aussie dollar retreated to its lowest since early 2017 at $0.7203 having shed more than two cents since the slide in the Turkish lira started grabbing headlines last week. Bears were now eyeing a $0.7160 trough from December 2016 and another at $0.7145 hit in May of the same year.
With the Turkish lira, Argentine peso, South African rand, Chinese yuan and Indian rupee all under pressure, the inclination has been to sell Aussie and kiwi as a proxy. The kiwi dollar touched its lowest since February 2016 at $0.6550 and looked destined to test major chart support around $0.6545. The next big target is a low from January 2016 at $0.6348.