By Swati Pandey
SYDNEY/WELLINGTON, Jan 31 (Reuters) - The Australian and New Zealand dollars were little changed on Monday after two straight session of gains, but looked set for their best monthly performance since early 2016.
The Australian dollar AUD=D4 rose 0.1 percent to $0.7561, having been trapped in a tight 75-76 U.S. cent band over the last 10 sessions.
The New Zealand dollar NZD=D4 held at $0.7286, not far from a 2-1/2 month peak of $0.7314 touched last week.
Both the Aussie and the Kiwi are up about 5 percent in January, making them among the best performing major currencies in the world.
The gains have come on the back of a sagging greenback, with investors growing increasingly leery about U.S. President Donald Trump's economic and social agenda.
The latest blow to the U.S. dollar came after Trump ordered a temporary ban on the entry of refugees and people from seven Muslim-majority countries.
Meanwhile, the Aussie got a slight boost from a survey showing Australian business conditions recovered strongly in December, while confidence remained steady. credit also jumped a handsome 5.6 percent on-year in December, pointing to a pick-up in economic activity. will keep a close watch on the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) two-day rate review that ends on Tuesday. The BOJ is set to maintain its massive monetary stimulus and try to reassure markets that any reversal of its ultra-loose policies is sometime off. New Zealand, investors await labour data due on Wednesday which was expected to show another quarter of strong jobs growth with unemployment near an eight-year low.
New Zealand government bonds 0#NZTSY= eased, sending yields 1 basis points higher at the long end of the curve.
Australian government bond futures were mixed, with the three-year bond contract YTTc1 flat at 98.03. The 10-year contract YTCc1 eased 1.5 ticks to 97.23. (Editing by Kim Coghill)