The Australian and New Zealand dollars stood at multi-week lows on Thursday as the greenback strengthened after robust US jobs data cemented the chance of a Federal Reserve rate hike. The Australian dollar held at $0.7515, its lowest since January 27. After gaining in the first two months of the year, the Aussie has fallen 1.7 percent so far in March, largely due to a resurgent US dollar.
The New Zealand dollar clocked its seventh straight day of decline to near a two-month low of $0.6907. It is down about 4 percent this month, compared with the US dollar's 1 percent rise against a basket of global currencies. The three-year bond future slipped 4 ticks to 97.84, while the 10-year contract lost 5.5 ticks to 97.0500.
New Zealand government bonds also fell, sending yields four basis points higher. Wednesday's ADP data showed US private payrolls grew by 298,000 jobs last month, the largest increase since December 2015. The gain was well above economists' expectations for a 190,000 increase.
The solid report made it almost certain the US Fed will hike rates at its March 14-15 meeting, and increased the likelihood of more rate rises during the year. The antipodean currencies were also hit by falling commodity prices, including gold and oil. For the Kiwi, weak prices for the country's top commodity - milk - at the latest dairy auction and a run of soft economic data during the week spurred its downward momentum.
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