Weak US jobs data and strong Chinese trade figures, along with a decisive federal election outcome, have given the Australian dollar a boost.

At 0700 AEST on Monday, the local unit was trading at 92.05 US cents, up from 91.47 cents on Friday.

ANZ senior manager FX in Auckland Sam Tuck said the Australian dollar was driven higher on Friday after US non-farm payrolls data for August came in weaker than expected.

The US economy added 169,000 jobs in August, the US Labor Department said, below expectations for a 175,000 gain.

In a sign that the US labour market’s recovery continues to be rocky, July’s hiring was revised to just 104,000 from a previously reported 162,000, the lowest in more than a year.

“The real thing about the payrolls was the negative revisions to the July and June series,” Tuck said.

“It’s a bit of a worrying sign for the US employment situation, so there was a broad-based US dollar move on Friday night.”

Tuck said the Australian dollar was further boosted over the weekend with the release of stronger than expected export figures from China.

Stronger exports to recovering overseas economies saw China’s August trade surplus widen to $US28.6 billion ($A31.50 billion), according to customs figures, beating expectations of a $US20.4 billion trade surplus.

“The exports are a good sign, it means China has got a good third-quarter lined up,” Tuck said.

Tuck said the Coalition’s victory at Saturday’s federal election, although long predicted by the market, was also weighing on the Aussie dollar.

“The fact that it was a much more decisive victory would be taken as a good sign for confidence from offshore and typically, centre-right governments are more business friendly,” Tuck said.

AAP