The Australian and New Zealand dollars steadied on Monday as demand against the euro helped the pair regain early losses, while bonds stayed bid on the mounting risk of a Greek default. The Aussie was at $0.7656 having bounced from an 11-week trough around $0.7587, an area of considerable chart support. The kiwi briefly touched its lowest since mid-2010 around $0.6786, before rallying to $0.6852. Markets were thin and very volatile. The flight to safety initially sent the Aussie down 2.2 percent to 92.63 yen, only for it to rebound all the way to 94.15.
"The decline that we have seen in transactional liquidity adds to risk," say analysts at ANZ. "It means that the reaction to every event can be amplified, and surprises can drive outsized moves." If sustained, the heightened volatility could deter foreign investors, and particularly the safety-minded Japanese, with negative consequences for the Aussie.
Investors globally were spooked early by news that Greek debt talks had broken down and Athens had called a referendum on the proposals for July 5 while imposing capital controls at home. The Aussie found some support from selling of the euro, which slipped to A$1.4356 and away from Friday's high of A$1.4642. Sentiment also got a lift from China's decision to cut both interest rates and bank reserve requirements as Beijing stepped up efforts to revive its economy. The Asian giant is a major export market for both Australia and New Zealand.
Sovereign debt benefited from the flight from risk, with Australia three-year bond futures adding 10 ticks to 97.9700, while the 10-year contract climbed 11 ticks to 97.0100. The cash 10-year yield fell to 2.95 percent from 3.075 percent late Friday. Yields on New Zealand debt were down between 6 and 9 basis points.