By Cecile Lefort and Gyles Beckford
SYDNEY/WELLINGTON, Aug 6 (Reuters) - The Australian dollar sagged on Thursday after a surprise increase in the jobless rate disappointed some in the market, while the New Zealand dollar edged off six-year lows.
The Aussie AUD=D4 initially gained a third of a U.S. cent after figures showed Australian employment jumped 38,500 in July, almost four times market forecasts.
However, it quickly faded to $0.7335 after the report also pointed to a rise in the unemployment rate to a six-month high of 6.3 percent, versus forecasts for 6.0 percent.
Interbank futures were little changed as the data was viewed as too mixed to greatly alter the outlook for interest rates.
Market pricing implies a 44 percent chance of a quarter-point easing in the cash rate to 1.75 percent by the end of the year. Most economists, however, expect the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to keep rates steady for an extended period.
"This report fits with the RBA's existing view of the labour market, and supports its neutral stance - sub-trend GDP growth but stronger employment growth and a 'steady' rate of unemployment," said Annette Beacher, chief of Asia-Pacific macro strategy at TD Securities.
The Aussie was down 0.4 percent on the day, having trimmed some of this week's gains when it rose above 74 cents. Immediate support was seen at $0.7315. It remained within reach of a six-year trough of $0.7234 touched last week.
The New Zealand dollar NZD=D4 fared a little better at $0.6527, having plumbed $0.6490 on Tuesday, its weakest since 2009.
The kiwi was knocked by weak dairy prices and soft jobs numbers, along with strong U.S. data.
"Markets are busy re-pricing Fed expectations, a process that is supporting USD and sending (the) New Zealand dollar to a new cycle low," ANZ analysts said in a note.
The kiwi faces a challenge arising from dairy giant Fonterra's board meeting on Friday, which is likely to slash its payout forecast to around NZ$4.00 a kilo for milk solids, from an initial forecast of NZ$5.25/kg. Several analysts are picking around NZ$3.70.
Near-term support for the kiwi is at the overnight low of $0.6490, with $0.6565 capping the topside.
The kiwi firmed against its Aussie peer, which eased 0.7 percent to NZ$1.1208. Traders cited some profit taking after the Aussie's recent strong run on the kiwi.
New Zealand government bond yields were up to 6 basis points higher.
Australian government bond futures fell, with the three-year bond contract YTTc1 off 1 tick at 98.010. The 10-year contract YTCc1 was down 2.5 ticks to 97.1350.