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SYDNEY, May 29 (Reuters) -
SYDNEY, May 29 (Reuters) -
The Australian dollar held above $0.78 on Friday as higher commodity prices and encouraging U.S. data whetted appetites for riskier currencies.
* Private sector credit numbers due at 0130 GMT, and generous handouts by the government are expected to have supported housing loans.
* That should affirm bets the Reserve Bank of Australia will keep interest rates steady at 3 percent at its policy meeting on June 2.
* Australian one-month overnight index swap show rates are seen steady at 3 percent.
* Aussie was up at $0.7849, from $0.7778 seen here late Thursday. It was also higher at 75.83 yen , from Thursday's 75.24.
* Aussie now trading near the bottom of an upward trend channel that started in late April and was established by lows of $0.7477 on May 15, and $0.7703 on May 26.
* Bond futures were up, recovering from a recent sell-off. Three-year bond futures were up 0.1 point at 96.07, and 10-year futures rose 0.11 points to 94.77.
* Japanese data out Friday show any economic recovery likely to be moderate. Overall household spending fell 1.3 percent in April, more than forecasts for a 0.6 percent drop, while core consumer prices fell 0.1 percent. [ID:nTKF106401] [ID:nTKX006257]
* A weak Japanese economy bodes ill for the Aussie because Japan is the top buyer of Australian exports.
* The Reuters-Jefferies CRB index <.CRB> is up 1.4 percent, helped by oil prices which hit a six-month high on Thursday after OPEC decided to keep output unchanged, and data showed a steep drop in U.S. crude inventories. [O/R]
* An encouraging rise in new U.S. single-family home sales, and fewer filings for first-time jobless aid last week had lifted U.S. stocks on Friday. [ID:nN28317740] (Reporting by Koh Gui Qing)
* Private sector credit numbers due at 0130 GMT, and generous handouts by the government are expected to have supported housing loans.
* That should affirm bets the Reserve Bank of Australia will keep interest rates steady at 3 percent at its policy meeting on June 2.
* Australian one-month overnight index swap show rates are seen steady at 3 percent.
* Aussie was up at $0.7849, from $0.7778 seen here late Thursday. It was also higher at 75.83 yen , from Thursday's 75.24.
* Aussie now trading near the bottom of an upward trend channel that started in late April and was established by lows of $0.7477 on May 15, and $0.7703 on May 26.
* Bond futures were up, recovering from a recent sell-off. Three-year bond futures were up 0.1 point at 96.07, and 10-year futures rose 0.11 points to 94.77.
* Japanese data out Friday show any economic recovery likely to be moderate. Overall household spending fell 1.3 percent in April, more than forecasts for a 0.6 percent drop, while core consumer prices fell 0.1 percent. [ID:nTKF106401] [ID:nTKX006257]
* A weak Japanese economy bodes ill for the Aussie because Japan is the top buyer of Australian exports.
* The Reuters-Jefferies CRB index <.CRB> is up 1.4 percent, helped by oil prices which hit a six-month high on Thursday after OPEC decided to keep output unchanged, and data showed a steep drop in U.S. crude inventories. [O/R]
* An encouraging rise in new U.S. single-family home sales, and fewer filings for first-time jobless aid last week had lifted U.S. stocks on Friday. [ID:nN28317740] (Reporting by Koh Gui Qing)
