Australian, NZ Dollars Weaken On Delta Virus Worries

The Australian and NZ dollars fell against their major rivals in the Asian session on Thursday, as worries about the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19 across the region weighed on sentiment.

Australia's capital Canberra has moved to a lockdown after detecting first case of local transmission in more than a year. Sydney and Melbourne are already under strict lockdowns amid a resurgence in the delta variant cases.

New South Wales has reported 345 new local cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, with more regional areas coming under tougher restrictions. Victoria recorded 21 locally acquired cases, with active cases now totalling 137 across the state.

China's central government published a five-year plan outlining more legislation on tech industries and digital fields.

The aussie dropped to 0.7355 against the greenback and 81.20 against the yen, off its early highs of 0.7377 and 81.46, respectively. The aussie is seen finding support around 0.70 against the greenback and 80.00 against the yen.

Retreating from its previous highs of 1.5907 against the euro and 0.9225 against the loonie, the aussie declined to 1.5958 and 0.9207, respectively. The currency is likely to find support around 1.61 against the euro and 0.90 against the loonie.

The kiwi weakened to 0.7019 against the greenback, 77.50 against the yen and 1.6720 against the euro, down from its prior highs of 0.7047, 77.79 and 1.6654, respectively. The next possible support for the kiwi is seen around 0.68 against the greenback, 74.00 against the yen and 1.70 against the euro.

The NZ currency eased off to 1.0482 against the aussie, from a day's high of 1.0456 seen at 11 pm ET. If the kiwi slides further, 1.06 is possibly seen as its next support level.

Looking ahead, Eurozone industrial production for June is due in the European session.

U.S. producer prices for July and weekly jobless claims for the week ended August 7 will be published in the New York session.