The Australian and New Zealand dollars held above recent lows on Friday as China sought to stabilise its yuan and strains in emerging markets eased for a moment, though risks still looked to be loaded to the downside.
The Aussie dollar AUD=D3 edged up to $0.7270 and away from a 19-month trough of $0.7203 touched on Wednesday. It faces resistance at $0.7286/90 and a major chart barrier at $0.7311.
The currency was still down 0.3 percent for the week so far, following a 1.4 percent drop the previous week.
Its modest bounce came as the Turkish lira managed to steady and Beijing acted to stop the yuan from falling through a psychological bulwark at 7.0000 per dollar.
Analysts, however, warned tensions in emerging markets and over global trade were unlikely to fade anytime soon, a mix that was benefiting the U.S. dollar.
"The U.S. dollar appears to find fresh buyers both when risk aversion increases and when strong U.S. data supports the Fed's bullish outlook," said Sean Callow, a senior forex analyst at Westpac.
Recent U.S. data has been strong enough that markets remain almost fully priced for a Federal Reserve rate hike in September, despite all the risks to the global outlook.
In contrast, Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Philip Lowe used an appearance before lawmakers on Friday to underline his lack of urgency on rate hikes.
He also said a lower currency would be helpful in supporting economic growth and inflation.
"Near term, underlying USD strength should help cap AUD rallies in the low-$0.73s, with overall risks this month of a probe towards $0.7160," warned Westpac's Callow.
Across the Tasman Sea, the New Zealand dollar NZD=D4 inched up to $0.6596, but shied away from resistance at $0.6610.
The kiwi held a gain of around 0.35 percent for the week so far, but that followed a dive of 2.6 percent the previous week.
It remains near two-and-a-half year lows of $0.6545 having fallen on a combination of global jitters and a markedly dovish turn by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.
"The NZD attempted a move higher overnight on the better trade headlines," said Miles Workman, economist at ANZ Bank. "With some indicators suggesting it is oversold, further moves lower will be harder here."
New Zealand government bonds
0#NZTSY= eased a touch. Australian government bond futures barely budged, with the three-year bond contract YTTc1 flat at 97.970. The 10-year contract YTCc1 rose 1 tick to 97.4500.
