The Australian and New Zealand dollars were struggling with heavy losses on the dollar and yen on Tuesday, while bonds rallied on intensifying eurozone contagion fears. The Australian dollar found a temporary floor around $0.9838, just off a six-week trough of $0.9809 struck overnight when Moody's warned France could loose its triple A rating.
The Aussie has lost nearly 7 percent this month and dealers said the mood remains very negative. Technically, the Aussie looks set to test the early October low of $0.9728, with resistance around $0.9930.
The Antipodeans edged off from multi-week lows on the safe-haven yen, with the Aussie back at 75.78 yen, having fallen to a six-week low of 75.47 on Monday. Similarly, the kiwi paused at 59.05, having plumbed 57.29, its weakest since March. The New Zealand dollar hovered around $0.7487, after dropping to an eight-month low of $0.7449 overnight.