Australian & NZ dlrs repelled by stiff resistance

* Aussie & kiwi off one-month lows

* Euro & yen buying weigh on Antipodeans

* Focus on Fed minutes

By Gyles Beckford and Cecile Lefort

SYDNEY/WELLINGTON, Feb 19 (Reuters) - The Australian and New Zealand dollars took a breather against their U.S. counterpart on Wednesday, having failed again to break major chart resistance, while the euro made broad inroads following encouraging trade data in Europe.

The Aussie AUD=D4 was off a one-month high at $0.8995, from $0.9033 in early trade. It powered up as far as $0.9081 on Tuesday, where it met a heavy technical barrier that prompted profit taking.

It has tried four times in recent weeks to sustain a break above this year's peak in the $0.9080-90 area, which also marks the 38.2 percent retracement of its fall from October to January.

Initial support is found at $0.8950 ahead of $0.8920. Dealers cite stops above $0.9100 with the next level of resistance found at the double top formed in early December at $0.9170.

Also weighing on the Antipodeans was heavy yen and euro buying. The common currency gained more than two cents after data showed the euro zone enjoyed a record current account surplus of 216 billion euros in 2013.

A trader at a European Bank in Singapore said the single currency's bounce was related to positioning with euro bears opting to book profits.

The euro climbed to A$1.5304 EURAUD=R , from a low of A$1.5080 Tuesday and to a two-week peak of NZ$1.6606 EURNZD=R , pulling away from a trough of NZ$1.6247 last Wednesday.

Bond futures got a boost from data showing Australian wage growth slowed to a record low of 2.6 percent last quarter, which should help restrain inflation and keep interest rates on hold.

The three-year bond contract YTTc1 added 5 ticks to 97.010, while the 10-year contract YTCc1 also rose 5 ticks to 95.925.

The next focus is on minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's January meeting when it decided to trim its asset buying by another $10 billion. Markets will scrutinise the statement as a recent run of soft data could encourage patience in the Fed's tapering efforts.

The New Zealand dollar NZD=D4 was lagging the currency pack as it retreated to around $0.8300, down 0.7 percent from the day before.

The rally which took the kiwi to a one month high of $0.8393 on Monday, from a near-five month low of $0.8048 at the start of the month, looks to have run out of puff.

"We suspect that repeated failure of the New Zealand dollar to breach short-term resistance around $0.8390 has frustrated some investors, leading them to reconsider long positions," said Bank of New Zealand strategist Kimberly Martin.

Near term support was seen at $0.8290 and below that $0.8255/60, around the 20 and 50-day moving averages, with $0.8360 the first hurdle higher.

Sentiment around the kiwi was not helped by a slight dip in dairy prices at the latest auction. News Search ID:nL2N0LN180

The data flow resumes with a batch of numbers on Thursday, including fourth quarter producer prices, job advertisements and consumer confidence.

New Zealand government bonds were firmer, sending yields 3.5 basis points lower along the curve.

(Editing by Shri Navaratnam)

((Cecile.Lefort@thomsonreuters.com)(+61 2 9373-1234)(Reuters Messaging: cecile.lefort.thomsonreuters@reuters.net))

Keywords: MARKETS AUSTRALIA/FOREX