Australia, NZ dlrs on the ropes as U.S. yields rise

By Wayne Cole

SYDNEY, April 26 (Reuters) – The Australian and New Zealand dollars were stuck near four-month lows on Thursday as rising Treasury yields supported their U.S. counterpart while suppressing risk appetite globally.

The dollar AUD=D4 did manage to bounce slightly to $0.7577, from a trough of $0.7552, though mainly due to profit-taking on short positions.

The rise in U.S. 10-year yields above the psychological 3 percent level has alarmed investors, particularly those in emerging markets.

Treasury yields act as a benchmark for global rates so the increase is pushing up borrowing costs for some countries.

Higher yields also risk attracting funds to U.S. debt and away from emerging markets while making equities look more expensive in comparison.

As a commodity-sensitive currency the Aussie is often used as a proxy for global growth and risk, leading investors to short it at times of uncertainty.

The technical background has also turned bearish after the Aussie breached a major trendline stretching from early 2016 which had provided support around $0.7625/50.

“My target remains for a move into the $0.7475 region,” said Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at CFD and FX provider AxiTrader.

“The risks are actually rising that if the USD breaks wide open we are actually trading in the 73’s in the next week or so and may eventually trade down into the 71’s,” he added seeing $0.7333 and $0.7142 as possible targets.

Domestic data were overshadowed but did show export prices rose faster than import prices in the March quarter as prices for iron ore, coal and LNG all climbed.

The New Zealand dollar was faring little better having sunk to $0.7063 from a peak of $0.7395 in less than two weeks.

The loss of chart support in the $0.7255/75 region had darkened the technical outlook and opened the way to the $0.6955/65 area.

In the bond market, yields on Australian 10-year paper had been dragged up to two-month peaks at 2.897 percent in line with Treasuries.

The three-year bond contract YTTc1 was flat at 97.710, while the 10-year contract YTCc1 eased 2 ticks to 97.1000.

New Zealand government bonds 0#NZTSY= dipped, lifting yields around 2.5 basis points across the curve.

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