The Australian and New Zealand dollars fell for a third straight session against the euro on Friday as the common currency got a lift from easing political uncertainty in Italy, while they stayed around recent ranges against the greenback.
Trading was cautious as global trade war concerns revived after the United States moved ahead with tariffs on aluminium and steel imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union, ending the two-month exemption it had given earlier.
The Australian dollar was last down 0.3 percent at $0.7542 and is set to end the week barely changed. The Aussie has found itself in a $0.7448-$0.7606 range in the past three weeks. Analysts see critical resistance around 76 US cents.
The euro rose to A$1.5484 against the Australian dollar and was set for its first weekly gain after five successive losses.
In New Zealand, the kiwi dollar was steady at $0.6995, holding on to the previous day's gains when it soared to a three-week high as global risk appetite improved. Analysts expect the Aussie to remain trapped in that band for a while yet.
"With no major moves forecast in either rates or commodities, neither are likely to emerge as a dominant driver for the AUD," forex strategist at ANZ said. "This leaves the AUD vulnerable to risk appetite," they added. "In the near term, we think it can still catch up to the decent performance of other risk currencies, but ultimately, risk appetite will be its undoing, driving the AUD back to testing its cycle lows."