The high flying New Zealand and Australian and dollars powered up to multi-month peaks on Friday as a slide in the US dollar whetted risk appetites and boosted commodity prices. The New Zealand dollar pushed to its highest this year at $0.6866, having gained 1.9 percent on Thursday. The US dollar continued to wilt in the wake of cautious comments by the Federal Reserve.
BNZ FX Strategist Jason Wong Friday said the kiwi is higher on all the major cross rates over the past month, apart from the Australian dollar. "Right now it is benefiting from news the US Fed has gone "soft" on inflation. This is a significant development and our currency forecasts should be considered under review," said Wong. The kiwi was on track to post a weekly gain of 1.7 percent. It was last at $0.6857.
OM Financial Private Client Manager Stuart Ive said resistance at $0.6900 has come into focus as most central banks remain cautious. The Australian dollar scaled a fresh eight-month summit of $0.7681, having gained a cent-and-a-half so far this week. It pierced stiff resistance around 76 cents in part after prices of iron ore, Australia's top export earner, jumped 5 percent. It was last at $0.7662. It has gained an impressive 7.2 percent so far this month and looked set to test the June 2015 peak of $0.7849. It also stood tall against the pound, which slumped for the sixth consecutive week.