The Australian and New Zealand dollars nudged up on Monday on hopes new leaders of Italy and Greece will roll out the necessary austerity measures to fend off a wider financial meltdown. The Australian dollar inched cautiously higher to $1.0286, from $1.0281 late in New York on Friday, underpinned by improved risk appetite. Earlier, it hit a session high at $1.0351.
The move higher was triggered by stop losses, which caught Aussie bears by surprise. With the rate outlook benign, the kiwi was likely to be capped at the 200-day moving average of $0.7995 for now, while support was seen lining up around $0.7850. Separately, the threat of further intervention by Japanese authorities kept the Antipodeans supported against the yen.
The kiwi was up 0.5 percent at 60.83 yen, off a one-month low of 59.93 yen struck on Friday, while the Aussie stood at 79.42 yen, well off a three-week trough of 77.99 yen hit last week. The kiwi was a touch firmer against the Aussie, with the Aussie at NZ$1.3070, down from NZ$1.3081 on Friday.