By Cecile Lefort and Charlotte Greenfield
SYDNEY/WELLINGTON, Sept 30 (Reuters) - The Australian and New Zealand dollars struggled for traction on Friday after concerns about Deutsche Bank 's health undermined risk appetite globally, though the Aussie was still on track for a solid monthly gain.
The Australian dollar AUD=D4 loitered around $0.7628, having shed 0.7 percent on Thursday. It has met heavy resistance above 77 cents since August.
It was knocked overnight after Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) shares touched an all-time low on worries about the financial stability of the largest German lender. flight to safety sent the euro two cents higher against the Aussie to be last at A$1.4712, while the Swiss franc jumped around 1 percent in the last 24 hours AUDCHF=R .
Still, the Aussie is up 1.3 percent so far in September, having recouped all of August's loss.
Part of the gains followed an upbeat assessment on the economy by Philip Lowe, the new governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), even though he left the door open for more rate cuts.
The RBA holds its monthly policy meeting on Tuesday and is seen certain to keep rates unchanged at an all-time low of 1.5 percent. ECONAU
"We expect that the RBA will not need to cut further, although the risk of a rising AUD is the key challenge to this view," said Paul Bloxham, chief economist Australia and New Zealand at HSBC.
A Reuters poll of 57 economists found all expect the central bank to stay pat on Oct. 4, though the majority still forecast one more easing. Click on reuters://realtime/verb=Open/url=cpurl://apps.cp./Apps/cb-polls?s=GCR01+2H+7&st=Menu+G+C
Futures markets 0#YIB: are pricing in a 50-50 chance of a move by February.
The New Zealand dollar NZD=D4 fell to $0.7242, from as high as $0.7304 on Thursday, as global risk aversion weighed.
"The risks around Deutsche Bank are large hence the risk off," said Stuart Ive, private client manager at OM Financial.
The kiwi, which climbed to a 15-month peak of $0.7485 early in September, has come back to where it started the month.
A survey of New Zealand business confidence released on Friday showed expectations soared 12.4 points in September, underlining the strength of the domestic economy. Zealand government bonds 0#NZTSY= gained, sending yields 7 basis points lower at the long end of the curve.
Australian government bond futures rose to three-week highs, with the three-year bond contract YTTc1 up 6 ticks at 98.540. The 10-year contract YTCc1 added 5 ticks to 98.0700, while the 20-year contract YXXc1 gained 5 ticks to 97.4900. (Editing by Shri Navaratnam)