SYDNEY, April 19 Reuters The Australian and New Zealand dollars started the week slightly lower on Monday, tracking losses in oil and copper as COVID19 infections rise globally, and in spite of bullish sentiment in broader Asian equities markets.

The resourcesensitive Australian dollar recovered to stand around flat at 0.7735 at midday, reversing morning losses that pushed the Aussie to 0.7706.

The New Zealand dollar eased 0.12 to 0.7142 before hitting a fourday low of 0.7117. The kiwi is far from its recent 0.7464 high struck in February, and has support around 0.705. It faces resistance at 0.7200.

Oil prices fell on Monday amid mounting concerns that surging numbers of coronavirus infections in India and other countries will lead to stronger measures and hit economic activity, along with demand for commodities such as crude.

The selloff in the commodities markets didnt help the Aussie despite most other markets being stronger today, said Steven Dooley, APAC currency strategist at Western Union Business Solutions.

Theres just a little hangover from the slightly weakerthanexpected data from China last week, he added.

On Friday, Chinese gross domestic product GDP grew a record 18.3 in the first quarter from a year earlier, when coronavirus lockdowns paralysed much of the economy, but that was slower than the 19 forecast by economists.

Traders, however, are bullish on both the Australian dollar and its New Zealand counterpart in the longer term.

Were inclined to…