* Aussie still within sight of 4-mth peak of $0.9310
* Kiwi down 1 pct vs USD for the week
* Aussie up nearly 1 pct higher vs yen this week
By Gyles Beckford and Cecile Lefort
SYDNEY/WELLINGTON, April 4 (Reuters) - The Australian and New Zealand dollars were firm on Friday, buoyed by short-covering after an attempt on the downside fizzled out and with investors cautious ahead of the U.S. jobs report.
The Aussie
Dealers said some investors were reluctant to take big positions ahead of the influential U.S. nonfarm payrolls due out on Friday. Analysts polled by Reuters expect 200,000 new jobs were added in March.
"Each time the Aussie falls below $0.9209, the 50 percent retracement of the October-January fall, it's a wall of buying," said David Scutt, a trader at Arab Bank Australia.
"It will be a very hard nut to crack before U.S. payrolls."
He said only a spectacular U.S. figure could dent the Aussie. If the report shows an outcome in line with expectations or slightly better, Scutt forecasts further Aussie strength.
A break of $0.9220, would see the Aussie target $0.9190, then $0.9152, the 38.2 percent and 50 percent retracement levels of the March 20 to April 1 rally.
Immediate resistance was found at $0.9265.
The Antipodean currencies held recent gains versus the yen with the Aussie at 95.93 yen
The kiwi was marking time after its gyrations earlier in the week, which saw it range between a two-and-half year high and a two-week low.
It last traded at $0.8553
"Should the number disappoint, we'd look for topside resistance around $0.8580. And on a stronger print, downside support should be around $0.8480," said ASB economist Christina Leung.
The flow of New Zealand data picks up next week with house prices, retail sales, business sentiment and manufacturing activity all due.
New Zealand government bonds
Australian government bond futures bounced off multi-month lows, with the three-year bond contract
(Editing by Eric Meijer)
((Cecile.Lefort@thomsonreuters.com)(+61 2 9373-1234)(Reuters Messaging: cecile.lefort.thomsonreuters@reuters.net))
Keywords: MARKETS AUSTRALIA/FOREX