The Australian dollar drifted off multi-month lows against the greenback and yen on Thursday as investors squared up short positions into the Easter holidays and ahead of key data including the US jobs report. The Aussie climbed as high as $1.0307 from a three-month low of $1.0240 plumbed on Wednesday. Traders said the market appeared to be aiming for stops above $1.0300. Against the yen, it was at 84.75, off a near two-month trough around 84.27 plumbed overnight.
The Aussie has fallen some 5.5 percent from a high of $1.0857 in February, but is finding some support for now at $1.0238, the 61.8 percent retracement of the December-February rally. Against the kiwi, the Aussie stood at NZ$1.2584, having slid to a six-month low of NZ$1.2560 on Wednesday. The bounce gained momentum after a private sector survey of firms showed China's services sector expanded again in March. News about China, Australia's single biggest export market, tend to move the Aussie. Also firmer, the New Zealand dollar climbed to $0.8181, recovering from a slide a one-week low of $0.8122. It fetched 67.21 yen, off a one-week trough of 66.73.