WELLINGTON/SYDNEY: The Australian dollar tumbled to five-month lows on Wednesday, having been turfed out of its well-defined trading band as a pick-up in market volatility pushed investors into paring back hugely popular carry trades.
The Australian dollar fell as far as $0.9167, having slid more than 2 cents since Friday and pierced the $0.9200-$0.9500 range which has held since late March. It was last at $0.9166, having broken through major chart support in the $0.9175/82 area.
"Traders could see a further correction lower if we see a daily close south of $0.9175, which is a key support level," said Stephen Innes, senior trader at OANDA Asia Pacific.
A sustained break under would target $0.9080, the 50 percent retracement of its January-June rise. Much of the tumble came from a US dollar rally as investors seem to be repricing the risk the Federal Reserve could sound more hawkish at its policy meeting next week.
Further undermining the Aussie was an unwinding of carry trades against the yen and euro.
The Aussie slipped to 97.47 yen , from a 15-month peak of 98.83, while the euro bounced off 14-month lows to be last at A$1.4095.
The Aussie has been a key beneficiary of super-loose monetary policies in Japan and Europe which have encouraged borrowing in euro and yen to invest in higher yielding Aussie assets. Against a trade-weighted basket, the Aussie dropped to 71.9, from a nine-month peak of 72.5 set on Monday.
Not helping was a private survey showing Australian consumer sentiment suffering a sharp reversal in September as households became more concerned about the outlook for the economy and employment.
Jobs data for August are due on Thursday with forecasts showing a slight drop in unemployment to 6.3 percent and the creation of 12,000 posts, from a loss of 300 the month before.
The New Zealand dollar traded at $0.8238, struggling near a seven-month low of $0.8224.
It also remained on the backfoot against the euro and sterling, but held near a six-week high on the yen at 87.90.
The kiwi has been pressured ahead of a policy review by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand on Thursday, when it is expected to pause its rate-raising cycle as the strong economic momentum seen earlier this year has started to slow.
"I'd prefer to be short of New Zealand dollars going into the Reserve Bank tomorrow," ANZ currency strategist Sam Tuck said, adding that he expected the RBNZ to highlight more balanced economic risks following a period of strong growth.
"I think this will definitely keep the New Zealand dollar under pressure the favoured direction is for it to continue its steady grind lower," he said, adding that a break below $0.8200 was possible this week.
Traders said that demand for the kiwi around $0.8225 and $0.8175 had curbed offshore losses, while adding that a break would open the door to a test of the year's trough of $0.8052.
New Zealand government bonds edged lower, nudging most yields 2 basis points higher across the curve.
Australian government bond futures steadied, having fallen sharply on Tuesday in line with US Treasuries.
The three-year bond contract edged up half a tick to 97.210, after touching 97.180, a level not seen since mid-June.
The 10-year contract added 1.5 ticks to 96.460, not far from a two-month trough of 96.410.
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