The New Zealand dollar powered to a post-float high against the greenback on Thursday, while the Australian dollar scaled a 26-year peak on sterling as investors piled into risk assets after Greece moved a step closer to securing emergency loans.
--- Aussie jumps to 26-year top vs sterling
The rally came as Asian equity markets posted healthy gains, with the MSCI index of regional stocks excluding Japan reaching its highest level since June 8. This saw the kiwi rise to $0.8320, the highest since the currency was floated in March 1985, surpassing the previous peak around $0.8301 set on June 9. Similarly, the kiwi surged against sterling, touching a 26-year post-float high at NZ$1.9374 per pound. It also notched reasonable gains against the euro and yen.
The trade weighted New Zealand dollar gained 1.2 percent against a basket of five main currencies to its highest level in three years. The kiwi, however, was little changed against the Aussie, which kept pace with its gains. The Aussie bought NZ$1.2946, compared with NZ$1.2936 on Wednesday.
The Aussie last traded at $1.0737, having risen as high as $1.0751, up more than half a cent from late New York levels. The rally from an 11-week low around $1.0390 on Monday has probably flushed out a lot of short positions. Immediate resistance is seen at $1.0775, the June peak and also the 61.8 percent retracement of the May 2-June 27 decline.
Sterling slid below A$1.5000 for the first time since 1985, reaching a low around A$1.4984. The pound has come under pressure since the Bank of England policymakers recently flagged the possibility of more monetary easing if the economy's anaemic recovery slows even more. Against yen, the Aussie hit a four-week high of 86.49 amid talk of Japanese demand at the Tokyo fix, in part from newly launched toshins.
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