By Cecile Lefort and Ian Chua
SYDNEY/WELLINGTON, Oct 22 (Reuters) - The Australian and New Zealand dollars were nursing losses on Thursday as worries over global growth sparked a broad selloff in commodity and emerging market currencies.
The Australian dollar AUD=D4 dipped to $0.7220, having skidded 0.7 percent on Wednesday. Immediate support was found at the previous session's low of $0.7202.
It has shed 0.6 percent this week and a sustained break under $0.7210 could see a retracement all the way to 69 cents, a trough touched in September.
Much of the weakness came after renewed worries about the Chinese economy knocked down commodity prices, including iron ore and copper, and Latin American currencies. China is the world's largest importer of commodities.
The focus is on the European Central Bank's policy meeting later in the session with talk of possible further easing steps to stimulate growth. Dealers said there is an upside risk for the euro should the ECB stand pat on policy.
The euro stood at A$1.5709 EURAUD=R against the Aussie, having recovered from a through of A$1.5388 set last week. It held at NZ$1.6824 EURNZD=R , up around three cents since last week's low.
At home, a private survey showed Australian businesses saw a marked improvement in sales and profits last quarter and turned notably more optimistic on the longer-term outlook for activity and investment. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N12M00P
Across the Tasman Sea, the New Zealand dollar was pinned down at $0.6730 NZD=D4 , having suffered its fourth session of losses on Wednesday.
It briefly dipped below 67 U.S. cents overnight, in stark contrast to last week when it was probing 69 cents. Support is seen at $0.6644, the 38.2 percent retracement level of its rally from $0.6235 to $0.6897.
Expectations that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand will pause at the Oct. 29 policy review after three consecutive easings have in part helped the kiwi rebound over the past month.
Now, traders said the currency was vulnerable to some correction.
"We'd be keeping an eye on broader risk sentiment, especially Asian equity markets, for a guide on NZD in the near-term," said Raiko Shareef, currency strategist at BNZ.
New Zealand government bonds 0#NZTSY= rose, sending yields 3.5 basis points lower along the curve.
Australian government bond futures bounced higher, with the three-year bond contract YTTc1 up 1 tick at 98.180. The 10-year contract YTCc1 added 4 ticks to 97.3550, while the 20-year contract YXXc1 was up 4.5 ticks to 96.8100.