Australia, NZ dollars cold-shouldered as strong data overlooked

SYDNEY: The Australian and New Zealand dollars were pinned near support on Thursday as wagers on a hefty US payrolls figure boosted their US counterpart, even as a trio of local data underlined the upbeat economic outlook at home.

The Aussie eased to $0.7491, having slipped 0.2% overnight after failing to clear resistance in the $0.7513/7526 area.

A break of the recent six-month low of $0.7478 would risk a retreat to a chart retracement target at $0.7375.

The kiwi dollar was hanging on at $0.6989, after topping out at $0.7006.

It has support around $0.6965, ahead of the June trough at $0.6923.

Markets are again waiting on the US jobs report which is forecast to show a solid rise of 700,000, but where all the chatter is of 1 million or more.

Australia's data were upbeat, though overshadowed by continued lockdowns across the country with Sydney reporting 24 new locally acquired cases.

The outbreaks have so far had only a limited affect on the overall economy as house prices surged further in June, boosting household wealth to historic highs.

In a positive sign for further jobs growth, official data showed job vacancies jumped 23.4% in the May quarter to an historic high.

Separate figures showed Australia's trade surplus also neared a record peak of A$9.7 billion ($7.26 billion) in May on the back of rising exports, particularly for iron ore.

That brought the run of surpluses to 41 months and the cumulative surplus for the 12 months to May to A$84 billion, a healthy cash inflow that should underpin the Aussie. "Commodity prices remain super supportive for the A$ and this will be obvious in the May trade surplus with plenty more to come given the lags in prices and better volumes in Q3," wrote analysts at Westpac in a note.

"For now, the A$ remains capped between $0.7580 and $0.7630 near term and vulnerable to further weakness. We remain focussed on any dip towards $0.7400/25 as another opportunity to buy."

One drag on the Aussie has been yield spreads, with Australian 10-year bonds offering just 2 basis points more than Treasuries. The spread was as wide as 44 basis points in February when the Aussie topped out at $0.8000.