SYDNEY: The Australian and New Zealand dollars held firm on Monday, with investors nervous of taking big positions at the start of a week packed with big international events.
The Aussie had a firm tone at $0.9267 by 0243 GMT, having rallied one percent last week to briefly touch a one-month high of $0.9320.
It was up 1.3 percent for July. If that gain is sustained, it would end three months of losses.
Helping the Aussie were rising iron ore prices which topped $132.30 a tonne, the strongest since May. The commodity is Australia's single largest export earner and prices have jumped 20 percent in two months.
The Australian dollar was underpinned by a modest reduction last week in speculative short bets. The number of net short contracts in Australian dollars eased below 64,000 from around 71,000, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
The Aussie appears to have shrugged off renewed concerns about a slowing economy in China, Australia's top export market.
Markets are waiting for the final reading of HSBC's China manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) for July and the government's official PMI, both due on Thursday. A weak result will weigh on the Antipodean currencies.
Major resistance for the Aussie was seen from $0.9300 to $0.9350, with traders citing strong selling interest above $0.9300.
Support was at $0.9227 with a break targeting $0.9180, the 20-day moving average.
The New Zealand dollar held at $0.8084, within sight of a six-week high touched at the end of last week.
The kiwi, which has gained more than 3 percent this month, has been well-bid since last week's central bank statement.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand surprised some with a slightly hawkish statement, even though it pledged to keep the cash rate at a record low of 2.5 percent through the end of the year.
That was enough to send the Aussie to near five-year lows against the NZ dollar. It was last at NZ$1.1453, not far from a trough of NZ$1.1388 set last week.
Markets have narrowed odds for further monetary easing in Australia, giving a three-in-four chance that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will cut its cash rate to a record low of 2.50 percent next month. In contrast, the RBNZ is widely expected to raise its 2.5 percent cash rate early in 2014.
A speech by the RBA governor in Sydney on Tuesday will be watched for any hints on interest rate policy.
Investors were awaiting key offshore events, particularly monetary policy meetings by the Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank.
"The mid-week FOMC meeting and end-of-week US payrolls data will likely determine market sentiment toward the US dollar and 'riskier' assets such as the NZ dollar," said BNZ strategist Mike Jones.
Near-term support for the kiwi is seen at $0.8055 with resistance at the mid-June high of $0.8137.
New Zealand government bond prices were slightly firmer, sending yields fractionally lower.
Australian government bond futures rose with the three-year bond contract 0.03 points higher at 97.330, while the 10-year contract added 0.025 points to 96.240.
Rising expectations of an imminent rate cut in Australia led to a sharp steepening of the curve with the spread between three- and 10-year cash bonds widening to 112.5 basis points, matching levels not seen since 2009.
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