The Australian and New Zealand dollars rallied on Friday as stunningly strong economic growth in European power-house Germany helped counter fears of a global slowdown and revive appetite for risk. The Kiwi currency also got a lift from an unexpected jump in domestic retail sales, which seemed to add to the chance of at least one more hike in interest rates this year.
The Australian dollar leaped to $0.9030, up from Thursday's low of $0.8912, though it was still down over a cent for the week. The Kiwi reached $0.7173, having been down at $0.7065 the day before. The Aussie pushed up to 77.76 yen, from a three-week low of 75.79.
The kiwi rose to 61.62 yen, from a five-week low of 60.29. Aussie gives ground to the kiwi after strong retail data easing to NZ$1.1.2580, from around NZ$1.2635. Australian bond futures slipped following the upbeat German data. Three-year futures lost 0.050 points to 95.380, while 10-year futures eased 0.020 points to 94.950.