The Australian dollar rose against a broadly softer greenback on Friday, bolstered by stop-loss buying as G20 finance ministers met, although players doubt the meeting will solve questions of currency depreciations. The Aussie rose to a high of $0.9839 from $0.9783 late in New York, marking a still slim 56-point trading range on the day, compared with ranges well above 100 points seen most of this week.
Meanwhile, the New Zealand dollar was up near a third of a cent on the day at $0.7492. Solid support for the kiwi remained at Wednesday's low of $0.7426, with resistance starting at $0.7500. "We've had quite reasonable ranges during the week and a lot of the order books have been cleared out. People are sitting on their hands a bit unless something punchy comes out of the G20 this weekend," said Philip Burke, a chief currency trader at J.P. Morgan.
A late burst higher in the Aussie came as the dollar eased after US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in a letter to G20 finance chiefs that nations with undervalued currencies should neither try to weaken them or stand in the way of gains. Earlier in the week, the Aussie dollar dropped to $0.9663 from $0.9961 after China's first rate hike in nearly three years on Tuesday spooked investors and raised fears that tighter policy there will hurt demand for Australian commodities.
Data on Friday showing Australia's export prices surged for a second straight quarter was also positive for the currency, although there was little reaction to the figure. The 7.8 percent increase in export prices for the third quarter came on top of a huge 16.1 percent rise the previous quarter. In all, prices were up 27.7 percent in the year to September, boosting profits, investment, jobs and tax receipts. The kiwi has seen a choppy past 24 hours, tracking volatility in broader currency markets.