Australian, NZ Dollars Lower Amid Rising Risk Aversion

The Australian and NZ dollars depreciated against their major counterparts in the Asian session on Tuesday amid rising risk aversion, as a spike in commodity prices escalated concerns about inflation and global growth.

Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak warned on Monday that Moscow could impose a ban on gas pumping through the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline to retaliate against sanctions imposed by the West.

A ban on Russian oil would lead to catastrophic consequences for the global market, Novak said, adding that prices could surge more than $300 per barrel or more.

The third round of talks between Ukraine and Russia failed to reach a deal on evacuation corridors from several besieged cities on Monday, as many of the routes were leading to Russia or its ally Belarus.

The United States is planning to impose a ban on Russian oil imports without teaming up with its allies in Europe, although a final decision has not been made yet.

The aussie weakened to 6-day lows of 0.7272 against the greenback and 83.91 against the yen, off its early highs of 0.7348 and 84.84, respectively. The aussie is likely to face support around 0.70 against the greenback and 81.00 against the yen.

Reversing from its early highs of 1.4791 against the euro and 0.9404 against the loonie, the aussie dropped to 4-day lows of 1.4925 and 0.9330, respectively. The aussie is poised to face support around 1.51 against the euro and 0.92 against the loonie.

The aussie pulled back from a previous high of 1.0732 against the kiwi and dropped to near a 2-week low of 1.0678. Should the aussie extends decline, 1.05 is possibly seen as its next support level.

The kiwi fell to 4-day lows of 0.6800 against the greenback and 78.53 against the yen, down from its prior highs of 0.6850 and 79.12, respectively. The kiwi is seen finding support around 0.66 against the greenback and 76.00 against the yen.

The kiwi touched a 4-day low of 1.5968 against the euro, after gaining to 1.5858 earlier in the session. Next key support for the kiwi is seen around the 1.62 level.

Looking ahead, Eurozone GDP and employment data for the fourth quarter are due out in the European session.

U.S. and Canadian trade data and U.S. wholesale inventories for January will be featured in the New York session.