SYDNEY/WELINGTON: The Australian dollar fell 0.7% on Wednesday and its New Zealand counterpart also faltered in jittery trading as early US election results showed the race was still too close to call.
Risk assets had rallied in recent days on hopes of a large fiscal stimulus with markets wagering on the possibility of Democratic sweep by Joe Biden.
But signs Trump would regain Florida and other major battleground states hit risk sensitive currencies on Wednesday. (Who is winning? Click on)
The Australian dollar fell 0.8 to $0.7107 after hitting a three-week top of $0.7223 earlier in the day.
The New Zealand dollar was off 0.2% at $0.6658.
Investors were also hedging against the risk of a contested election or a potentially drawn out process as mail in ballots were counted.
Australian government bond futures, which had rallied on Tuesday following an expected rate cut and quantitative easing programme by the country’s central bank, were slightly weaker on Wednesday.
The three-year bond contract was down 1.5 ticks at 99.84 while the 10-year contract eased 5 ticks to 99.175.
Analysts at Morgan Stanley have said if the results is too close to call by 12 pm EST on Wednesday (0500 GMT on Thursday), it will likely be too close to call for several days beyond that.—Reuters
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