By Cecile Lefort and Gyles Beckford
SYDNEY/WELLINGTON, Aug 4 (Reuters) - The Australian dollar edged away from six-year lows on Tuesday following better-than-expected data, while investors were waiting to see whether the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) would again talk down its currency.
The RBA is seen certain to hold rates at 0430 GMT, having cut to an all-time low of 2.0 percent in May. The near-term outlook is also steady with the probability of a cut not reaching 50-50 until the end of the year 0#YIB: .
The Australian dollar AUD=D4 edged up to $0.7294, but remained close to a trough of $0.7234 set last week. Resistance was found at $0.7309 with support around $0.7250.
It moved higher after Australian retail sales for June beat forecasts with a 0.7 percent increase, while the national trade deficit was not as bad as expected, at A$2.93 billion versus an anticipated A$3.1 billion. ECONAU
"It's welcome news and if we were not heading into RBA day, we could be trading above 73 cents," said Annette Beacher, chief Asia Pacific of macro strategy at TD Securities in Singapore.
The focus is now on the RBA statement.
"All I care about is whether the 7-cent fall in the Australian dollar since May has improved the RBA's growth and inflation outlook," said Beacher.
The Aussie dropped more than 5 percent last month alone, largely on U.S. dollar strength.
The New Zealand dollar NZD=D4 was on the back foot at around $0.6555 due to weak commodities, risk aversion and the prospect of another fall in dairy prices.
ANZ Bank's commodity price index slumped 11.2 percent in July, a record monthly fall that took it to the lowest level in nearly six years. ID:nW9N0TT021
In New Zealand dollar =NZD terms, the index was down 6.7 percent even though the currency fell 4 percent from June.
"The sizable fall in NZ dollar prices tells us that the NZ dollar is not moving fast enough in response to shifts across commodities," said ANZ agri-economist Con Williams.
The kiwi's next test is a global dairy auction due on Wednesday, with futures pointing to around a 10 percent dive in key prices.
Near term kiwi support is seen around $0.6540 and resistance at $0.6615.
New Zealand government bond yields 0#NZTSY= were as much as 4 basis points lower at the long end of the curve.
Australian government bond futures rose, with the three-year bond contract YTTc1 up 1 tick at 98.120. The 10-year contract YTCc1 added 4 ticks to 97.2500. (Editing by Richard Borsuk)