* Planned business spending in Australia for 2014/15 upgraded
* Aussie up a quarter of a U.S. cent
* 10-yr government bond yields at lowest in over a year
By Cecile Lefort and Naomi Tajitsu
WELLINGTON/SYDNEY, Aug 28 (Reuters) - The Australian dollar received a boost on Thursday after a better-than-expected outlook for business investment leant hope the economy could weather an ongoing pullback in the mining sector, hoisting the New Zealand dollar higher.
The Australian dollar
"Both the Aussie and bonds reacted to the headline print, but details were mixed," said Su-Lin Ong, senior economist at RBC Capital Markets in Australia.
Planned spending for 2014/15 was upgraded to A$145.2 billion, topping analysts estimates of around A$142 billion. However, there is a risk that gross domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter, due out next week, could show a contraction, partly due to consumer caution.
Not helping is a 0.9 percent decline in plant and equipment spending, which could also drag on economic growth.
Still, some economists are guardedly optimistic.
"The better print for the actual quarter and some signs that non-mining investments are picking up are encouraging," Ong said, keeping her GDP forecast at 0.5 percent for the second quarter.
The Aussie had already been underpinned by demand from carry trade investors, borrowing in euro to buy higher-yielding Aussie assets. The euro slipped to A$1.4110
The common currency is down 2 percent this month largely due to growing expectations of another round of policy easing by the European Central Bank.
The Aussie kept near multi-month highs versus the yen, pound Swiss franc and its kiwi neighbour.
The New Zealand dollar
It was supported after dairy exporter Fonterra
Fonterra, the world's largest dairy exporter, also stuck to its milk price forecast for the current year. There had been concerns it would lower the payout given an ongoing slide in global prices for dairy, the country's biggest export earner.
Versus the greenback, the kiwi has shed 5.6 percent since mid-July, and has retreated from a post-float high on a trade-weighted basis
Technical support was seen at $0.8353, the 61.8 percent retracement of the kiwi's February-July rally, and below that at $0.8311.
New Zealand government bonds
Australian government bond futures were split, with the three-year bond contract
Cash government 10-year bond yields fell to their lowest in more than a year with Australian debt
(Editing by Eric Meijer) ((Cecile.Lefort@thomsonreuters.com)(+61 2 9373-1234)(Reuters Messaging: cecile.lefort.thomsonreuters@reuters.net))
Keywords: MARKETS AUSTRALIA/FOREX




















