The Australian dollar was firm on Thursday, underpinned by another healthy trade surplus, while the New Zealand dollar remained out of favour on rampant speculation interest rates will be cut next week. The Australian dollar held in a tight range around $1.0160, off its Wednesday low of $1.0128, with support at $1.0120 and the topside capped at $1.0203.
The NZ dollar was a tad higher on the day at $0.7449 but still down 0.9 percent for the week. It hit a 10-week low on Wednesday after New Zealand's Prime Minister said he expected the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) would cut its 3 percent cash rate at its March 10 meeting.