The Australian and New Zealand dollars cratered at 10-month lows on Friday as coronavirus lockdowns undermined their economies and pushed out policy tightening, sparking a steep drop in bond yields.

The Aussie dollar lay in tatters at US$0.7138 having dived an eye-watering 3.2 per cent for the week so far, the largest fall in almost a year.

A break of the 200-week moving average at US$0.7223 had turned the technical outlook deeply bearish and opened the way to the next target at US$0.6990, a trough from November last year.

The kiwi dollar had shed 3.1 per cent on the week so far to US$0.6820, again the biggest drop since September last year. The next target is the 200-week average at US$0.6760 and then US$0.6590.

Both currencies have been upended by the spread of the Delta variant at home, with Sydney extending a strict lockdown out to the end of September while New Zealand lengthened its national lockdown to next week.

-Business Times