Australian, NZ Dollars Lower On On Virus Concerns

The Australian and NZ dollars moved down against their major counterparts on Wednesday, as rising coronavirus infections in the U.S. sparked worries about its impact on economy.

The U.S. recorded 700 deaths from the coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday, lifting total U.S. fatalities from the disease to more than 3,700.

"I expect to see some very bad numbers coming out of the economy in the first quarter, second quarter," Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Loretta Mester said in an interview on CNBC.

The scientists leading the Trump administration's fight estimated the virus could kill between 100,000 and 240,000 in the country.

Describing the pandemic as "a plague", President Donald Trump has warned of a "very painful" two weeks

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that Australia building approvals rose a seasonally adjusted 19.9 percent on month in February - coming in at 15,698.

That beat expectations for an increase of 3.0 percent following the 15.3 percent decline in January. The aussie dropped to 0.6063 against the greenback and 1.0266 against the kiwi, from its early highs of 0.6158 and 1.0321, respectively. The aussie is likely to face support around 0.59 against the greenback and 1.01 against the kiwi.

Reversing from its early highs of 66.19 against the yen, 1.7906 against the euro and 0.8663 against the loonie, the aussie weakened to a 6-day low of 65.18, 2-day lows of 1.8124 and 0.8599, respectively. Next key support for the aussie is likely seen around 64.00 against the yen, 1.86 against the euro and 0.84 against the loonie.

The kiwi depreciated to an 8-day low of 63.41 versus the yen, 6-day lows of 1.8633 versus the euro and 0.5899 versus the greenback, off its early highs of 64.32, 1.8442 and 0.5974, respectively. The kiwi is seen finding support around 61.00 versus the yen, 1.90 versus the euro and 0.56 versus the greenback.

Looking ahead, PMI reports from major European economies and Eurozone jobless rate for February are due in the European session.

U.S. ADP private payrolls data for March is scheduled for release at 8:15 am ET.

In the New York session, U.S. ISM manufacturing PMI for March and construction spending for February are set for release.