Australian, NZ Dollars Advance As U.S., China Hold Talks

The Australian and NZ dollars climbed against their major counterparts in the Asian session on Friday amid rising risk appetite, as investors welcomed talks between U.S. President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to improve their ties on key issues.

In a statement, the White House said that the "two leaders had a broad, strategic discussion in which they discussed areas where our interests converge, and areas where our interests, values, and perspectives diverge."

The two talked about "areas where our interests converge, and areas where our interests, values and perspectives diverge," it added.

The telephonic conversation came after lower level talks between the two sides failed to break the stalemate on key areas.

The European Central Bank decided to slow emergency bond purchases during the final quarter, but President Christine Lagarde added that it was a recalibration of stimulus and not a tapering.

The weekly jobless claims fell to the lowest level in nearly 18 months last week, signaling an ongoing recovery in the U.S. labor market.

The aussie advanced to 0.7389 against the greenback and 1.6011 against the euro, off its early lows of 0.7360 and 1.6060, respectively. Next key resistance for the aussie is likely seen near 0.75 against the greenback and 1.58 against the euro.

The aussie recovered from its prior lows of 80.75 against the yen and 0.9321 against the loonie and rose to 81.20 and 0.9344, respectively. The aussie is seen finding resistance around 83.00 against the yen and 0.95 against the loonie.

The kiwi spiked up to a 2-day high of 78.38 against the yen and a 10-day high of 1.0352 against the aussie, from an 8-day low of 77.79 and a 2-day low of 1.0382, respectively seen in early trades. If the kiwi rises further, 80 and 1.02 are likely seen as its next resistance levels against the yen and the aussie, respectively.

Reversing from its previous lows of 0.7090 against the greenback and 1.6671 against the euro, the kiwi edged higher to 0.7129 and 1.6593, respectively. The kiwi is poised to locate resistance around 0.73 against the greenback and 1.64 against the euro.

Looking ahead, Canada jobs data and U.S. PPI for August and wholesale inventories for July will be featured in the New York session.