The Australian dollar came under pressure on Tuesday as worries about China, Australia's single biggest export market, flared up after global miner BHP Billiton said it saw signs that growth in iron ore demand there was slowing. Traders took that as an excuse to sell the currency, knocking it off an early high of $1.0625 to as low as $1.0551. It last stood at $1.0560, with support seen in the $1.0550 region.
The Aussie slightly underperformed its New Zealand peer, slipping 0.1 percent to NZ$1.2814. Against the yen, both Antipodean currencies retreated from recent highs, but were still seen on an uptrend versus the embattled Japanese currency. The Aussie was at 88.20, but still in sight of Monday's 10-month peak of 88.62. The kiwi, which has surged 15 percent on the yen this year, stood at 68.74 yen, a day after reaching a near two-year high of 69.12. Earlier, minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia's March meeting barely lifted an eyebrow in markets. The central bank judged rates were at the right level then, but saw plenty of room to cut if necessary. Tracking the Aussie lower, the New Zealand dollar fell around 0.3 percent to the day's low of $0.8225. Early gains to $0.8285 were met by selling from leveraged and corporate communities.
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