The Australian and NZ dollars advanced against their major counterparts in the Asian session on Friday, while the Japanese yen fell, amid easing geopolitical concerns as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken agreed to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov later next week.
Russia announced a new drawdown of military forces from the Moscow-annexed Crimean peninsula and Blinken agreed to a meeting with Lavrov, raising hopes for a diplomatic resolution.
Separately, the G7 nations are ready for "a serious dialogue" with Russia on the Ukraine crisis, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said today on the eve of crunch talks in Munich with her G7 counterparts.
In economic news, data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed that Japan's consumer prices were up 0.5 percent on year in January.
That was shy of expectations for an increase of 0.6 percent and down from 0.8 percent in December.
The aussie appreciated to 0.7209 against the greenback and 83.04 against the yen, following its prior lows of 0.7176 and 82.42, respectively. The aussie is poised to find resistance around 0.74 against the greenback and 86.00 against the yen.
Reversing from its early lows of 1.5828 against the euro and 0.9123 against the loonie, the aussie moved up to 1.5768 and 0.9151, respectively. Next key resistance for the aussie is seen around 1.54 against the euro and 0.93 against the loonie.
The aussie rebounded to 1.0742 against the kiwi, from a session's low of 1.0728 hit at 8:30 pm ET. On the upside, 1.09 is possibly seen as its next resistance level.
The kiwi rose to 0.6716 against the greenback, 77.36 against the yen and 1.6924 against the euro, recovering from its prior lows of 0.6684, 76.78 and 1.6991, respectively. The kiwi is seen finding resistance around 0.69 against the greenback, 80.00 against the yen and 1.66 against the euro.
The yen dropped to 156.93 against the pound, 125.19 against the franc and 131.01 against the euro, after rising to 156.22 and 124.72 and a session's high of 130.40, respectively. The yen is poised to challenge support around 160.00 against the pound, 127.5 against the franc and 133.00 against the euro.
The yen edged down to 115.28 against the greenback and 90.82 against the loonie, off its previous 2-week high of 114.79 and a 4-day high of 90.29, respectively. The next possible support for the yen is seen around 119.00 against the greenback and 92.00 against the loonie.
Looking ahead, Eurozone construction output for December is set for release in the European session.
Canada retail sales for December and new housing price index for January will be published in the New York session.
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