Australian, NZ Dollars Fall Amid Sell-off In Crude Oil

The Australian and NZ dollars slipped against their major counterparts in the European session on Thursday, as oil prices sank after the White House weighed a plan for a massive release of crude from strategic reserves to help alleviate a spike in prices.

The plan is expected to release around 1 million barrels of oil per day from strategic reserves for several months.

U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to announce the strategic petroleum reserve release plan later today.

A meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies, known as OPEC+, is also in focus. The OPEC+ is likely to increase output by 400,000 barrels a day in April, the same pace as in past months.

West Texas Intermediate futures on the NYMEX have slipped to near $100 per barrel.

The aussie declined to a 2-day low of 0.7470 against the greenback and a 1-week low of 90.76 against the yen, off its early highs of 0.7526 and 92.10, respectively. The aussie is poised to challenge support around 0.70 against the greenback and 86.00 against the yen.

The aussie touched a session's low of 0.9343 against the loonie, after rising to 0.9404 at 8:45 pm ET. Should the aussie falls further, it is likely to test support around the 0.91 region.

The aussie depreciated to a 10-day low of 1.4943 against the euro, but it has since recovered to 1.4855. The pair had closed yesterday's deals at 1.4852.

The kiwi weakened to 2-day lows of 1.6084 against the euro and 84.33 against the yen, down from its early highs of 1.5980 and 85.41, respectively. The next possible support for the kiwi is seen around 1.62 against the euro and 82.00 against the yen.

The kiwi pulled back from an early high of 0.6978 against the greenback, falling to 0.6930. The kiwi may locate support around the 0.66 level.

The kiwi edged down to 1.0798 against the aussie, from a high of 1.0757 seen at 5 pm ET. The kiwi is seen finding support around the 1.09 mark.

Looking ahead, U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended March 26, personal income and spending data for February will be published in the New York session.