By Cecile Lefort and Rebecca Howard
SYDNEY/WELLINGTON, Feb 15 (Reuters) - The Australian and New Zealand dollars rallied against a soggy yen on Monday as appetite for risky assets re-emerged, though investors were cautious of more turbulence as China returned from a holiday week.
The Aussie bounced to 81 yen, AUDJPY=R , from 80.41 in early trade and a four-year trough of 77.57 set last week. The Aussie had lost 6 yen in two weeks as concerns about global growth and European bank debt fuelled a flight to safety. Resistance was found at 81.05.
The kiwi edged up 0.5 percent to 75.42 yen NZDJPY=R , having touched a six-month trough of 73.19 last week. It has slumped 3.3 percent so far this week.
The Aussie AUD=D4 held firm versus its U.S. counterpart, having weathered disappointing trade figures out of China, Australia's key export market.
China's exports dropped 11.2 percent in January from a year earlier, while its imports slipped 18.8 percent. Haddad, senior strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, warned the Aussie resilience might not last long.
"The fundamental Aussie downtrend remains intact. There are still lots of risks with global growth slowing and commodities under downside pressure."
Resistance was found at $0.7153, while a break of $0.6973 could open the way to retracement to a seven-year trough of $0.6827.
The New Zealand dollar NZD=D4 was trading higher at $0.6636, recovering some of its losses after taking a tumble on Friday as U.S. January retail sales came in better than expected.
Domestically, investors were looking to Tuesday's quarterly retail sales data and this week's GlobalDairyTrade auction for direction. ASB Bank Economist Kim Mundy said the dairy auction was a likely cause of concern for the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.
Futures are pointing to a 10 percent fall in whole milk powder prices, said Mundy.
New Zealand government bonds 0#NZTSY= eased, sending yields 3.5 to 4.5 points higher across the curve.
Australian government bond futures retreated from multi-month peaks, with the three-year bond contract YTTc1 down 6 ticks at 98.190. The 10-year contract YTCc1 shed 6.5 ticks to 97.5200, while the 20-year contract YXXc1 fell 5.5 ticks to 97.0050.