The New Zealand dollar scaled a fresh 30-year peak on Monday, while the Aussie climbed against the US dollar after President Barack Obama announced that congressional leaders had reached an agreement to avert a debt default. The news bolstered risk appetite with commodity currencies gaining the most.
"We would be very cautious though, given we're still awaiting details of this fiscal consolidation plan out of the US," said Sue Trinh, senior currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets in Hong Kong. The kiwi hit a high of $0.8842, a level last seen in mid-may 1981, when the exchange rate was controlled by the central bank, while the Aussie gained 0.5 percent to a session peak of $1.1060, very near its 29-year summit.
The kiwi last traded around $0.8814 compared with the $0.8786 close in New York on Friday, with support at the tenkan line of $0.8680 and resistance at $0.8878, the upper 21-day Bollinger band. The Australian dollar, last at $1.1043, was seen supported at $1.0950 before major support at $1.0890. Strong resistance is pegged at its 29-year high of $1.1081 ahead of $1.1200.
Both kiwi and Aussie jumped about 1 percent against a stressed yen. The kiwi shot up to a 15-month peak of 68.88 yen, while the Aussie climbed to 86.16 yen. The New Zealand dollar also posted solid gains against the euro and pound. The euro dived to a 14-year trough of NZ$1.6243, while the pound sank to an all-time low of NZ$1.8553. The Aussie underperformed the kiwi, briefly touching a one-year low at NZ$1.2461, before recovering some ground to last stand at NZ$1.2505.