Australian Dollar Higher Amid Rising Risk Appetite

The Australian dollar strengthened against its major counterparts in the Asian session on Friday, as most Asian shares rose on optimism about the U.S. stimulus package to mitigate the fallout from the coronavirus crisis.

This offset negative sentiment after a report by the U.S. Labor Department showed a spike in first-time jobless claims for the week ended March 21.

The US Senate passed the relief package late Wednesday, which includes cash payments to American taxpayers and aid to small businesses and core industries.

The House of Representatives is expected to vote on the legislation later in the day.

G20 leaders pledged to inject over $5 trillion into the global economy to limit job and income losses from the coronavirus and "do whatever it takes to overcome the pandemic."

The aussie rose to 0.6126 against the greenback, its strongest since March 17. On the upside, 0.68 is seen as the next resistance level for the aussie.

The aussie advanced to 2-day highs of 1.0249 against the kiwi, 0.8581 against the loonie and 1.8054 against the euro, from its early lows of 1.0152, 0.8474 and 1.8286, respectively. The next possible resistance for the aussie is seen around 1.045 against the kiwi, 0.90 against the loonie and 1.61 against the euro.

The Australian currency bounced off to 66.43 against the yen, from a low of 65.80 set at 9:10 pm ET. If the aussie rises further, 75.00 is likely seen as its next resistance level. Looking ahead, U.S. personal income and spending data for February and University of Michigan's final consumer sentiment index for March will be featured in the New York session.