The Australian dollar powered to new 28-year highs on Thursday to be within spitting distance from a milestone parity level, helped by a strong domestic economy and renewed weakness in the US dollar. The Australian dollar was strong at $0.9958 after breaking through stop-loss buy orders to surge as far as $0.9980, with option barriers at $1.000 providing resistance.
NZ$ bounces back The Australian dollar has shot up 66 percent since hitting a low of $0.6007 in October 2008 during the peak of the global financial crisis. Traders said there were stop-loss sell orders lined up above $1.000 as some thought it would be a good time to sell and take profits once it hits parity.
The New Zealand dollar briefly dropped more than a quarter of a cent to a low of $0.7568 after a dismal set of retail sales data for August which reinforced bets rates would be on hold into 2011. But it later recovered to a high of $0.7645, the best since July 2008, before trading around $0.7619 after Singapore's central bank widened the trading band of its currency, allowing it to rise a little faster against an ailing US dollar.