The Australian dollar was stuck near three-week lows on Friday as investors fled riskier trades and higher-yielding currencies, unwinding leveraged positions funded mainly in yen. Most Asian stocks markets were in the red after a slide on Wall Street, while the yen climbed to months highs against the Aussie and the US dollar. Investors were spooked in part by US President Obama's plans to limit risk-taking at banks.

The Aussie was down at $0.9030, having shed over a cent overnight and almost two percent for the week. Traders said Asian central banks were buying the dip but momentum favoured a break of key chart support around $0.8960/70 and a fall to 89 cents. The Aussie also fell past 81 yen to a one-month low. It dropped to as low as 80.76 yen, more than 5 yen lower than a recent peak of 85.75 yen struck on January 11.

Copyright Reuters, 2010