Australian, NZ Dollars Climb Amid Rising Risk Appetite

The Australian and NZ dollars advanced against their major counterparts in the Asian session on Friday, amid rising risk appetite as investors digested the latest set of sanctions on Russia by the U.S. and the European Union for its invasion of Ukraine.

Although U.S. President Joe Biden imposed harsh sanctions against Russia, he did not target oil exports or banned it from the SWIFT international payments system.

Biden expressed unwillingness to deploy troops to fight Russian forces in Ukraine, to help avoid a conflict between the U.S. and Russia.

Risk sentiment improved after China injected liquidity into the banking system to maintain stability.

The PBOC pumped a net 290 billion yuan through seven-day reverse repurchase agreements to keep liquidity stable towards the end of the month.

The aussie edged up to 0.7204 against the greenback and 83.01 against the yen, following its prior lows of 0.7139 and 82.43, respectively. The aussie is poised to find resistance around 0.74 against the greenback and 85.00 against the yen.

Reversing from its early lows of 1.0675 against the kiwi and 0.9147 against the loonie, the aussie moved up to 1.0724 and 0.9212, respectively. Next key resistance for the aussie is seen around 1.09 against the kiwi and 0.94 against the loonie.

The aussie firmed to 1.5553 against the euro, its strongest level since November 25, 2021. If the aussie rises further, it may find resistance around the 1.53 level.

The kiwi climbed to 0.6723 against the greenback and 1.6676 against the euro, rising from its previous lows of 0.6684 and 1.6751, respectively. The kiwi is seen finding resistance around 0.69 against the greenback and 1.64 against the euro.

The kiwi rebounded to 77.51 against the yen, from a low of 77.10 seen earlier in the session. The kiwi is likely to challenge resistance around the 80 level.

Looking ahead, Eurozone economic confidence index for February is due in the European session.

University of Michigan's final consumer sentiment index for February, U.S. durable goods orders, pending home sales and personal income and spending data, all for January, will be out in the New York session.