The Aussie was firm at $1.0548, having climbed to a three-month high of $1.0585 in early trade. It briefly pierced key barriers at $1.0560, which prompted a wave of short-covering coupled with fresh long positions.
The kiwi, which was anchored at $0.8440, was supported in the near term around $0.8400 with the overnight high the first hurdle ahead of the year's top at $0.8471. The Aussie dollar climbed to a nine-month high of 88.05 yen to last trade at 87.97. Major resistance was found at the year peak of 88.62, ahead of a 20-month high of 90 yen. The kiwi did even better, surging 0.5 percent to a four-year high of 70.62 yen.