Aussie dollar rises 3 pct vs U.S. dollar, yen

NEW YORK, Sept 19 (Reuters) - The high-yielding Australian dollar soared on Friday, rising 3 percent against both the U.S. dollar and the yen, on a surge in risk appetite following U.S. government measures to support the ailing financial sector.

The Australian dollar rose as high US$0.8274 AUD= versus the U.S. unit, the highest since Sept. 8, and up more than 3 percent from late on Thursday. At current prices, the Aussie was on pace for its best one-day gain against the U.S. dollar in 10 years.

The Aussie also climbed 3.5 percent against the low-yielding yen to 87.80 AUDJPY=.

"The reestablishment of risk is the dominant theme in the market. The announcement has supported the Aussie and Kiwi at the expense of the yen," said RBC Capital Markets in a research note. (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by James Dalgleish)