Aussie up, kiwi range bound

The Australian dollar won a small reprieve on Friday as solid Chinese trade data lifted it above a six-month trough, while its New Zealand cousin traded within recent ranges. The Aussie, a liquid proxy for China plays, steadied at $0.7513 after two straight days of losses that took it to a low of $0.7501.
China's November imports blew past all expectations with annual gains of 17.7 percent, reflecting strong appetite for industrial commodities such as iron ore and coal which are big export earners for Australia. For the week, the Aussie was still down 1.4 percent after cracking major chart support at $0.7530.
It has ended lower in 10 out of the last 15 weeks, largely because of its shrinking yield advantage versus the US dollar. The greenback has recently had a boost from expectations of corporate tax cuts in Inited States. Across the Tasman Sea, the New Zealand dollar held at $0.6835, slightly above this year's low of $0.6818.
It has been trapped in a narrow range of $0.6823 to $0.6913 since the end of November. The currency came under further pressure this week, in part after dairy giant Fonterra slashed its farmgate milk payout as global prices fell. Dairy is New Zealand's biggest goods export.
The kiwi is down 0.7 percent so far for the week, following two straight weekly gains. Australian government bond futures eased, with the three-year bond contract down 2.5 ticks at 98.030. The 10-year contract slipped 1.5 ticks to 97.4550.