The Australian dollar has bounced back after falling on weak Chinese manufacturing data.

At 0630 ACT on Friday, the Australian dollar was trading at 87.78 US cents, up from 87.34 cents on Thursday.

The currency hit an intraday low of 87.12 US cents on Thursday when the HSBC’s barometer of Chinese manufacturing activity showed the first contraction since July 2013.

The British banking giant’s final reading of China’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI), which tracks manufacturing activity in factories and workshops, fell to 49.5 this month.

It was fractionally below the preliminary 49.6 ASPIC announced last week.

A reading above 50 indicates growth, while anything below signals contraction.

AAP