Australia, NZ dollars trampled by greenback bulls

SYDNEY: The Australian and New Zealand dollars nursed bruising losses for the week on Friday as their US counterpart rode a rapid upswing in Treasury yields, which in turn hammered domestic bond markets.

The mood was not helped by mixed data from China where retail sales handily outpaced forecasts, but industrial output and property activity disappointed hopes that stimulus measures were finally working. That left the Aussie marooned at $0.6456, and near a fresh three-month low of $0.6441. It was down almost 2% for the week, which would be its second worst week this year, and set to test a trough from August at $0.6349.

The kiwi dollar was also off 2% for the week at $0.5852, having struck a one-year low overnight at $0.5840.