The Australian and New Zealand dollars held their ground against the US currency on Monday and pared gains on the yen, though the mood remained fragile due to lingering worries about the US economy and eurozone debt. The Aussie dollar was last at $1.0400 versus $1.0402 late in New York on Friday. Earlier, it gained as much as half a cent when short positions were squeezed.
The New Zealand dollar also held firm at $0.8181 versus $0.8179 in New York late on Friday, having pared gains from a session high of $0.8230. The kiwi has gained nearly 5 percent this year and scaled a 30-year peak of $0.8842 earlier this month. But some believe the kiwi is running out of puff.
The Antipodeans pared earlier gains made on the yen when it fell sharply against the dollar in a market wary of intervention by Japan. This saw the Australian dollar jump nearly a yen to 80.45. It later retreated to where it had started the session at 79.12 yen.
The Aussie has fallen more than 7 percent this month and hit a trough of 76.48 yen on August 9. The kiwi also retreated to 62.72 from a session high of 63.44 yen. Against the New Zealand dollar, the better-performing Aussie edged up to NZ$1.2690, not far off a five-week peak around NZ$1.2733 set Friday.
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