The Australian dollar was almost back to where it was in early March before market panic at the risks from the virus saw it collapse as much as 10 US cents to 17-year lows.

The Aussie was last at $0.6457, having climbed 1% overnight to a six-week top of $0.6472. That cleared the previous April peak of $0.6445 and left it a long way from the March trough of $0.5510.

The kiwi lagged a little, in part as speculation about further policy easing pushed bond yields to record lows. The kiwi stood at $0.6028, well above its March low of $0.5469 but short of the $0.6300 level held in early March.

Government bond yields had already been declining steadily as the RBNZ bought debt in the market and the 10-year yield hit a fresh all-time low on Tuesday at 0.753%.

Copyright Reuters, 2020