Australian And NZ Dollars Weaken As Virus Cases Mount

The Australian and NZ dollars depreciated against their major counterparts on Wednesday, as a surge in Covid-19 cases in some parts of the world clouded hopes for economic recovery.

The number of global Covid-19 cases has increased to more than 11.7 million, while the deaths have soared to over 543,000, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

More U.S. states reported record numbers of new infections, with Florida facing an impending shortage of intensive care unit hospital beds. California reported more than 10,000 coronavirus cases on Tuesday, a record rise for a single day.

The Australian state of Victoria saw another record rise in daily coronavirus cases, which led to lockdown measures being reimposed in Melbourne, the country's second-biggest city.

Dr Michael Ryan, emergencies chief of the WHO said the rise in cases was not due to widespread testing, but because the epidemic was "accelerating."

Also, the WHO on Tuesday acknowledged the emerging evidence of airborne spread of the novel coronavirus after an open letter by over 200 scientists outlined evidence that showed floating virus particles can infect people who breathe them in.

The kiwi fell to 70.23 versus the yen, 0.6530 against the greenback and 1.7253 against the euro, off its early highs of 70.62, 0.6562 and 1.7190, respectively. The kiwi is seen finding support around 67.00 versus the yen, 0.64 against the greenback and 1.74 against the euro.

The kiwi pulled back to 1.0614 against the aussie, from more than a 3-week high of 1.0589 seen at 8:30 pm ET. Next key support for the kiwi is seen around the 1.09 level.

The aussie weakened to 0.6927 against the greenback, 1.6267 against the euro and 0.9434 against the loonie, from its early highs of 0.6951, 1.6212 and 0.9455, respectively. The aussie is likely to face support around 0.68 against the greenback, 1.65 against the euro and 0.92 against the loonie.

The aussie dropped to a 2-day low of 74.51 against the yen, after rising to 74.82 at 9:30 pm ET. Should the aussie extends decline, 73.00 is possibly seen as its next support level.

Looking ahead, Canada housing starts for June are scheduled for release at 8:15 am ET. In the New York session, U.S. consumer credit for May is due.