By Cecile Lefort
WELLINGTON, Sept 16 (Reuters) - The Australian and New Zealand dollars held gains on Wednesday, as the clock ticked closer to the time when the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates for the first time in almost a decade.
The Australian dollar marked time at $0.7130, close to a two-week peak of $0.7166 touched on Tuesday. The Antipodean currencies have proved remarkably resilient to sliding commodity and Chinese stock prices to be each up 0.7 percent so far this week. The Aussie fell below 69 cents earlier this month for the first time since 2010.
The Aussie also held its ground against the euro and yen following recent steep losses.
Dealers said investors were wary of the outcome of the Fed's two-day meeting beginning later in the session. Markets are still guessing whether the central bank will raise rates then, or opt for December or early next year.
Across the Tasman sea, the New Zealand dollar NZD=D4 was steady at $0.6351, having been stuck between $0.6279 and $0.6369 in the last four sessions.
It got a modest lift after global dairy prices jumped 16.5 percent, the highest since April, pulling away from recent 12-year lows.
"That was significantly stronger than the 5 percent - 10 percent gain we'd pencilled in," said Raiko Shareef, a strategist at Bank of New Zealand. Dairy is New Zealand's largest export earner.
Strong resistance was found at $0.6370, with dealers citing selling interest ahead of $0.6410. The kiwi dropped below 62 cents last month, a level not seen since 2009.
Data at home showed a widening in the current account deficit in the second quarter due to increased overseas expenditure and a fall in export earnings. The outcome, however, was slightly smaller than forecasts.
Investors are awaiting gross domestic product figures due on Thursday, with forecasts of a 0.5 percent increase for the quarter and a 2.5 percent rise for the year.
New Zealand government bonds eased, sending yields as much as 7 ticks higher on the long end of the curve.
Australian government bond futures also fell, with the three-year bond contract off 7.5 ticks at 98.050. The 10-year contract dropped 12 ticks to 97.1700, having touched their lowest in a month. (Editing by Jacqueline Wong)