SYDNEY (Reuters) - The Australian and New Zealand dollars edged lower on Wednesday in very quiet trade as the Sino-U.S. trade dispute showed every sign of dragging on, and domestic economic news generally disappointed.
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he was holding up a trade deal with China and had no interest in moving ahead unless Beijing agrees to four or five "major points" which he did not specify.
The Aussie slipped a shade to $0.6948 and away from Monday's peak at $0.7025. Support is just below at $0.6940/45.
The kiwi dollar drifted off to $0.6571, leaving behind the recent five-week top of $0.6681 and threatening chart support around $0.6560.
The Aussie found a little support from a fresh jump in prices for iron ore, the country's biggest export earner. A mix of tightening supplies and robust Chinese demand lifted Dalian iron ore futures to record highs.
The September contract at 778.5 yuan was equal to a lucrative A$162 a tonne for Aussie miners.
The news at home was not so promising with Westpac's measure of consumer confidence easing 0.6% in June amid concerns about the economic outlook.
The lack of response to the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) cut in interest rates last week just reinforced excitations of further easing and futures imply an 88% chance of a move by August.
Australian government bond futures inched higher, with the three-year bond contract up half a tick at 98.945. The 10-year contract firmed 1 tick to 98.5450.
In New Zealand, data on electronic retail card spending surprised by showing a 0.5% drop in May, led by softness in durable goods. The data covers about 68% of core retail sales.
"Spending on durables has been trending sideways since late 2018," said Satish Ranchhod, a senior economist at Westpac. "This likely reflects the softening in the housing market over the past year."
"With lingering softness in the housing market to date, we expect to see only moderate growth in retail spending over the coming months."
(Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
