By Cecile Lefort and Charlotte Greenfield
SYDNEY/WELLINGTON, May 5 (Reuters) - The Australian drifted up from deep lows on Thursday as some upbeat domestic data gave bears an excuse to pocket profits on the currency's recent slide.
The Australian dollar AUD=D4 edged up to $0.7489, from $0.7460 early and away from a seven-week trough of $0.7447 touched on Wednesday. Resistance was found near $0.7515 with support at $0.7455.
The Aussie, which is still down more than 2 cents since Tuesday's rate cut by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), received a modest boost after data showed the country's trade deficit narrowed sharply in March.
A healthy 4 percent jump in exports helped shrink the deficit to A$2.1 billion ($1.57 billion), beating forecasts for A$2.9 billion. Retail sales also surprised with a gain of 0.4 percent in March. expects the Aussie to consolidate ahead of U.S. payrolls data on Friday with a slight softer bias, the bank said in a note.
Underpinning the Antipodean currencies somewhat are bond yields that still dwarf those of many rich world peers. According to a Fitch report, there are $10 trillion worth of bonds overseas paying less than zero, with Japan accounting for two-thirds of the total. contrast, Australian debt pays between 1.7 percent AU2YT=RR and 2.4 percent out to 10 years AU10YT=RR .
The New Zealand dollar NZD=D4 rose to $0.6893 from a low of $0.6861 touched on Wednesday.
It has shed 1.1 percent so far this week in the wake of the RBA's easing and sliding global prices for dairy products, the nation's top export earner. Analysts expect the currency to trade between $0.6860 and $0.6960.
New Zealand government bonds 0#NZTSY= gained, sending yields 8 basis points lower at the long end of the curve.
Australian government bond futures rose to two-month highs, with the three-year bond contract YTTc1 up 3 ticks at 98.310.
The 10-year contract YTCc1 added 5 ticks to 97.6250, while the 20-year contract YXXc1 gained 5.5 ticks to 97.0250. ($1 = 1.3360 Australian dollars) (Editing by Richard Borsuk)