SYDNEY, March 4 Reuters The Australian and New Zealand dollars flatlined on Thursday after another spike in global bond yields spooked investors away from riskier assets, though sentiment was aided by data showing a record Australian trade surplus.

The Aussie stood at 0.7785, having fallen from 0.7839 overnight when a jump in U.S. Treasury yields knocked equities lower. Importantly, it managed to stay clear of major support around 0.7693, keeping the recent uptrend alive.

The kiwi dollar was holding at 0.7251, after also easing from a 0.7302 top overnight. It has solid support around 0.7210.

The renewed selloff in Treasuries rippled though local markets with yields on Australian 10year bonds popping back up to 1.79, from a low of 1.628 at the start of the week.

Cash threeyear yields were restrained at 0.14 as the Reserve Bank of Australia RBA maintained its 0.1 target. Yet futures sank 6 ticks to 99.645, implying an yield of 0.355.

While the RBA has now bought around 60 of the cash April 2024 bond on issue, it has less control of the futures market which is far more deep and liquid.

In any case, the central bank has sounded relaxed about the rise in yields given it largely reflects optimism about the global economy with vaccines being rolled out and U.S. fiscal stimulus on the way.

The domestic economy is faring well with figures out this week showing the strongest two quarters of growth on record, while the countrys trade surplus swelled to an historic high of…