SYDNEY: The Australian dollar held its head above 73 US cents while its New Zealand counterpart was on track for its sixth straight session of gains on Friday against a sagging greenback which was weaker on downbeat economic data. The Australian dollar was last at $0.7316 and was on track to post a small weekly gain.
The New Zealand dollar rose 0.5% to $0.6790, and was up a solid 1.9% so far this week. It hit a two-week high of $0.6785 after Finance Minister Grant Robertson sounded positive about the economy's recovery prospects in television interviews. Both countries have been successful in controlling their second waves of coronavirus infections, while keeping overall case numbers and death toll low relative to global standards.
Elsewhere, the Aussie is down 1.4% so far this week against the kiwi, trading around its lowest since early August at 1.0772. New Zealand government bonds were little moved. Australian government bond futures slipped, with the three-year bond contract off 3.5 ticks at 99.705. The 10-year contract eased 4.5 ticks to 99.06. In addition, greater investor risk appetite amid expectations of a faster global economic recovery led by China has boosted the antipodes, analysts said.
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