Aust dollar lifts above US90c

The Australian dollar is higher, boosted by stronger Chinese manufacturing data and after weaker US jobless claims nudged the American currency lower.

At 0630 AEST, the local unit was trading at 90.20 US cents, up from 89.98 cents on Thursday.

The Australian dollar was boosted on Thursday by a better-than-expected result in the HSBC Flash China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, which came in at a four-month high.

HSBC's PMI for China's manufacturing sector jumped to 50.1 in August, up from July's 11-month low of 47.7.

The US dollar was slightly weakened overnight after the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits rose 13,000 last week to a seasonally-adjusted 336,000, although the level remains consistent with solid job gains.