The Australian dollar held close to 73 US cents after upbeat housing finance numbers added to the recent run of strong economic data, but the currency failed to hold on to a three-week high as the US dollar rallied.
The Aussie touched a peak of 73.31 US cents, marking a rally around 3 percent from Tuesday's 71.15 cent low as signs the economy was building momentum raised speculation of an interest rate rise this year.
The Aussie was quoted at $0.7301/06, compared with $0.7287/92 late here on Thursday. It gained about 2 percent on the week.