Late Change NZD/USD 0.8317 +0.0046 NZD/AUD 0.7721 +0.0017 NZD/JPY 67.6 +0.665 April 2013 Bond 3.215% +1.5 bps May 2021 Bond 5.145% +1.5 bps 10-Year U.S. Spread +200 bps -1.0 bps 90-Day Bank Bill 2.66% unchanged WELLINGTON (Dow Jones)--The New Zealand dollar was trading higher late Friday but remained rangebound ahead of U.S. nonfarm payrolls data. The Kiwi touched a fresh post-float high of US$0.8336 early in the session, its highest level in nearly 30 years. Westpac Bank Senior Market Strategist Imre Speizer said the move was flow driven rather than event driven and "since then (the pair) has basically had a bit of a sag and went to sleep for the rest of the day." Speizer said the Kiwi is treading water ahead of the U.S. jobs data. Economists have raised their forecasts for Friday's U.S. jobs data after the upbeat reports this week. The median forecast is now for a gain of 125,000 non-farm payroll jobs, compared with original expectations of a rise of 108,000. Speizer said a positive payrolls number would give risk appetite and therefore the Kiwi a lift, adding that support should hold at US$0.8280 and resistance is around US$0.8340 "with a high chance of it going to US$0.8400 tonight." Government bonds ended virtually unchanged in a quiet session. A local bond trader said the market would be looking closely at the U.S. jobs data for direction Monday. -By Rebecca Howard, Dow Jones Newswires; 64-4-471-5990; rebecca.howard@dowjones.com

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