SYDNEY: The Australian and New Zealand dollars were still smarting from recent losses on Wednesday amid worries about Chinese demand for commodities and expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will flag an aggressive tightening cycle later in the day.

The Aussie was precariously perched at $0.7190, after finding some support under $0.7170. That was a long way from last week’s four-month top of $0.7440 and the technical risk remained for a retracement to $0.7090.

The kiwi dollar was idling at $0.6767, having been as low as $0.6729 overnight before finding support. A break above $0.6790/6800 is needed to improve the chart background. Oil prices extended their decline to $100 a barrel, in part on speculation a deal on Iran might go forward, while concerns about more coronavirus lockdowns in China hit iron ore. “Both the iron ore and the oil price have corrected back down to near their pre-war levels,” noted CBA FX analyst Joseph Capurso. “And AUD/USD is still at risk of a sudden material drop to test $0.7000 if the situation in Ukraine deteriorates.”