{
  "id": 9501182,
  "title": "Australia, NZ dollars tumble to multi-week lows, bonds battered",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/24/australia-nz-dollars-tumble-to-multi-week-lows-bonds-battered",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-24T05:50:48.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Business Recorder",
    "slug": "business-recorder",
    "url": "https://www.brecorder.com/news/40440998/australia-nz-dollars-tumble-to-multi-week-lows-bonds-battered"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Australian and New Zealand dollars reached multi-week lows on Thursday, following a surge in US economic data that bolstered the greenback. Meanwhile, global bond markets experienced a renewed decline, leading to bond yields hitting their 15-year peaks. Surprising data from Australia revealed an increase in unemployment, further exacerbating the Australian dollar's struggles. The currency plummeted to a seven-week low of $0.7025, marking a 1% overnight decline and breaching several moving averages. The outlook turned bearish, raising concerns of a potential drop to $0.6920 or even $0.6866. The New Zealand dollar, meanwhile, was trading at $0.5676, having also dropped by 1% overnight. A test of the June low at $0.5627 now appears imminent, with a possible decline to $0.5581. Despite domestic data showing a surprising increase in employment, the Australian jobless rate rose to a five-year high of 4.6%. This suggests a growing labor supply, which may help ease the labor market. However, inflation pressures remain a concern, with oil prices surpassing $100 a barrel and core inflation at 3.6%. The Reserve Bank of Australia Governor, Michele Bullock, has indicated that unemployment between 4.5% and 5.0% would be necessary to loosen the labor market. Nevertheless, with unemployment still at the lower end of her target band, the RBA is expected to raise interest rates at their meeting in September. Markets anticipate a 95% chance of a 25 basis point hike to 4.60% and a potential peak of 5.10%. Similarly, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand has seen its probability of a rate hike climb to 87%, from 20% a few weeks ago. They are expected to raise rates by 25 basis points to 3.0%, and some speculate a possible peak of 4.0%. These hawkish moves, coupled with global bond market selling, have sent Australian 3-year bond futures sliding 15 ticks to 94.900, the lowest level seen since mid-2011. New Zealand's 2-year swap rates surged 15 basis points to 4.1179%, the highest since August 2024, while 10-year bond yields reached 5.103%.",
  "summary": "SYDNEY: The Australian and New Zealand dollars languished near multi-week lows on Thursday after red-hot US economic data boosted the greenback across the board, while a renewed rout in global bond markets drove yields to 15-year peaks. Domestic data showing a surprise rise in unemployment added to the Australian dollar’s woes, nudging it to a seven-week low of $0.7025 after a 1% overnight slide.…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}