SYDNEY: The Australian and New Zealand dollars stepped back on Tuesday as China data disappointed and the Bank of Japan tweaked its super-easy policy rather than abandoning it, which proved mainly of benefit to the US dollar.

The Aussie eased 0.4% to $0.6346, having bounced 0.6% on Monday as global risk sentiment improved a little. It now faces resistance at $0.6400 and $0.6445.

The kiwi dollar dipped to $0.5827, after also rallying 0.6% the previous session. Resistance lies at $0.5872.

Both were caught in cross currents after the BOJ said it was making its yield curve control (YCC) policy more flexible by setting 1.0% as the reference rate for 10-year JGBs, rather than a cap.