The Australian and New Zealand dollars held above recent lows on Friday as China sought to stabilise its yuan and strains in emerging markets eased for a moment, though risks still looked to be loaded to the downside. The Aussie dollar edged up to $0.7270 and away from a 19-month trough of $0.7203 touched on Wednesday. It faces resistance at $0.7286/90 and a major chart barrier at $0.7311.
The currency was still down 0.3 percent for the week so far, following a 1.4 percent drop the previous week. Across the Tasman Sea, the New Zealand dollar inched up to $0.6596, but shied away from resistance at $0.6610. New Zealand government bonds eased a touch. Australian government bond futures barely budged, with the three-year bond contract flat at 97.970. The 10-year contract rose 1 tick to 97.4500.