Australian, Canadian Dollars Rise Amid Risk Appetite

The Australian and Canadian dollars climbed against their major counterparts in the Asian session on Friday amid risk appetite, as Asian stock markets rose following the overnight gains on Wall Street, as tepid inflation data eased worries about a faster pace of rate hike by the Federal Reserve.

Investors focused on the meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump that is scheduled on June 12.

Trump said that he had plans of "doing something very meaningful" when both leaders meet for talks aimed to denuclearize the Korean peninsula.

Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that the total number of owner occupied housing commitments in Australia decreased for the fourth straight month in March.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, total number of owner occupied dwelling commitments dropped 2.2 percent month-over-month in March, faster than the 0.2 percent fall in February.

The aussie climbed to a 4-week high of 1.5776 against the euro and a weekly high of 0.7547 against the greenback, from its early lows of 1.5841 and 0.7523, respectively. On the upside, 1.56 and 0.77 are likely seen as the next resistance levels for the aussie against the euro and the greenback, respectively.

The aussie reversed from its early lows of 82.24 against the yen and 1.0796 against the kiwi, advancing to an 8-day high of 82.58 and a 3-month high of 1.0830, respectively. If the aussie continues its rise, 84.00 and 1.09 are possibly seen as its next resistance levels against the yen and the kiwi, respectively.

The aussie advanced to a session's high 0.9627 against the loonie, off its early low of 0.9604. The aussie is likely to find resistance around the 0.98 level.

The loonie strengthened to 85.83 against the yen and 1.5178 against the euro, coming off from its previous lows of 85.57 and 1.5220, respectively. The next possible resistance for the loonie is seen around 87.00 against the yen and 1.50 against the euro.

Bouncing off from an early low of 1.2773 against the greenback, the loonie rose to 1.2752. The loonie is seen finding resistance around the 1.26 level.

Looking ahead, Canada jobs data and U.S. import and export prices, all for April, and University of Michigan's preliminary consumer sentiment index for May are scheduled for release in the New York session.