SYDNEY: The Australian and New Zealand dollars touched three-week tops on Thursday as their US counterpart extended its broad retreat and upbeat data suggested the Australian economy had grown strongly last quarter.

The Aussie stood at $0.7718, after jumping 1% overnight when a break of major resistance at $0.7677 triggered a wave of stop-loss buying. The next target is a high from March at $0.7849.

The kiwi dollar climbed to $0.7145, having gained 1.2% overnight and finally cleared resistance at $0.7070. Its next targets are $0.7187 and $0.7268.

Both currencies also made sizable gains on the yen and euro.

The Aussie got an added fillip from data showing 70,700 jobs were added in March, twice the market forecast, while unemployment dropped to a one-year low at 5.6%. So far, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has stuck to its super loose monetary policy, emphasising that unemployment will likely have to fall to 4% or lower to get wages and inflation up to desired levels.