Australia, NZ dollars in holding pattern ahead of US payrolls data

SYDNEY: The Australian and New Zealand dollars were marking time ahead of the all-important US non-farm payrolls data on Friday, which could add to the case interest rates will stay high for longer and trigger renewed selling in bonds.

The Aussie was little changed at $0.6375, having rebounded 0.7% overnight to $0.6377 and moved further away from its 11-month low of $0.6286. It was still down 0.9% for the week, with resistance lying at about 64 cents.

The kiwi was hovering at $0.5965, holding onto overnight gains of 0.9% to $0.5966, the highest in three days. It is down 0.6% for the week, with major resistance at 60 cents and support at $0.5871.

Economists expect the US economy added 170,000 jobs in September and the jobless rate ticked lower to 3.7% - any upside surprises may trigger another leg up in Treasury yields and boost the US dollar.