The Australian and New Zealand dollars pared some losses on Wednesday as jitters over Italy's budget deficit calmed a little and prompted a pullback in safe havens such as the yen. The Aussie dollar steadied at $0.7185, having been as low as $0.7165 at one stage. It was still down on Tuesday's top of $0.7236, but held above support around $0.7160 and $0.7140.
It got a mild lift when the Corriere Della Sera newspaper reported the Italian government planned to reduce its budget deficit to 2 percent of gross domestic product by 2021, rather than leave it at 2.4 percent. The New Zealand dollar was a shade softer at $0.6580 after a drop in prices for dairy, the country's top export, pushed the currency through a key support level. New Zealand government bonds gained, sending yields 2.7 basis points lower at the long end of the curve.