The Australian dollar is trading at its highest since April as it started the sessions at $US0.9261. It is trading at $US0.9230/32, up from Thursday's close of $US0.9215/17.

The local currency was trading after 5 p.m. yesterday between $US0.9172 and $US0.9276.

The employment data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) paved the way for favorable sentiments to run throughout the trading sessions. The jobless rate for August was slightly down from July's 5.3 percent. August holds a seasonally adjusted 5.1 percent rate.

The ABS report also showed full-time employment to have increased by 53,100, while part-time employment dropped 22,100 in August.

U.S. job figures were also encouraging. The U.S. Labor Department reported on Thursday a decrease in new claims for unemployment aid. The claims applications dropped by a seasonally adjusted 27,000 to 451,000.

Bank of New Zealand currency strategist Mike Jones advised investors to closely monitor the Chinese trade data for August.

China's trade balance has a median market forecast to be $US26.9 billion ($A29.34 billion). The expected figure is down from July's $US28.7 billion ($A31.3 billion).

The local unit against the euro is at 72.72 cents, the kiwi at $1.27, the British pound at 59.84 cents and the Canadian dollar at 95.43 cents.