OREANDA-NEWS. March 19, 2015. The Australian and New Zealand dollars were little changed on Wednesday as investors awaited the outcome of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy review.

The Australian dollar was stuck at \\$0.7620, having been trading in a narrow band of \\$0.7606 to \\$0.7680 since Monday. It remained uncomfortably close to a six-year low of \\$0.7561 set last week.

The euro recovered more ground against the Antipodean currencies following recent steep losses. It has now gained two full cents since Monday to be last at A\\$1.3919. Likewise, it was up at NZ\\$1.4500, from an all-time low of NZ\\$1.4246 touched earlier this week.

All eyes are firmly set on the Fed which is expected to take a major step toward lifting interest rates by dropping its commitment to being patient on tightening policy.

The New Zealand dollar was subdued at \\$0.7315, though still above a low of \\$0.7191 touched last week.

It took a hit overnight when prices for New Zealand's biggest export earner suffered their biggest fall since mid-2014 at the latest global dairy auction.

BNZ Currency Strategist Raiko Shareef said the Fed would need to provide a strong indication that it may tighten policy around mid-year to push the kiwi below support at \\$0.7177, a near four-year low hit in February.

"You'd really have to see a clear sign that they're moving towards a rate hike," he said. "If there is a signal that there's a change afoot, they we'll see that (\\$0.7177) level broken."

Meanwhile, offers are suspected ahead of \\$0.7450, roughly the 38.2 percent retracement of the kiwi's January-February sell-off.

Investors were also awaiting figures on New Zealand fourth-quarter GDP on Thursday, which are expected to show annual growth running at a brisk clip around 3.2 percent.

New Zealand government bonds rose a touch, nudging yields a basis point lower at the long end of the curve.

Australian government bond futures were firm, with the three-year bond contract up 1 tick at 98.190. The 10-year contract added 1.5 ticks to 97.5450.