The Australian and New Zealand dollars held near record highs on the euro and nudged up on the greenback on Wednesday as investors were buoyed by a raft of upbeat data, ahead of European bond sales. While a broadly firmer euro held off recent lows against the Antipodean currencies, it still remained dangerously close. It inched up 0.2 percent to A$1.2275 on the Aussie, from an all-time trough of A$1.2222 hit offshore.
Against the kiwi, it was at NZ$1.5926, near the NZ$1.5869 trough plumbed earlier this week. Against the US dollar, the Aussie rose 0.2 percent to $1.0400 and looked set to re-test stiff resistance at $1.0410.