The Australian dollar slid then rebounded on Thursday after a surprisingly small rise in employment initially sparked a selloff before underlying strength in the numbers put a solid floor under the currency. A choppy session saw the Aussie drop almost half a US cent to $0.9917 in reaction to disappointing headline data before bouncing back to where it started in early trade at around $0.9950.
The New Zealand was steady around $0.7620, little changed from late Wednesday levels, after a thin trading range of $0.7610-$0.7639. The euro remained firm against the Antipodean currencies, at A$1.3171 after hitting a one-week high of A$1.3230 in early trade. The single currency was also firm on the kiwi at NZ$1.7197. After the job data, the Aussie held onto early gains at NZ$1.3052 after it had hit six-week lows at NZ$1.2909.