The Australian dollar has stabilised on the back of better than expected jobs figures and housing data.

At 1700 AEDT on Friday, the local unit was trading at 69.54 US cents, up from 69.42 cents on Thursday.

Both local jobs data on Thursday and housing finance figures out on Friday defied expectations with the unemployment rate steady at 5.8 per cent in December and the number of home loans rising 1.8 per cent in November.

FXCM chief currency strategist John Kicklighter said the Australian dollar hasn't moved either up or down following, what would appear, to be encouraging figures.

"In the aftermath of the Aussie jobs figures, neither the bulls nor bears were able to use the data to mount an offensive, he said.

"That fits the condition of the data itself. A smaller than expected loss in jobs and a hold in an already elevated unemployment rate seems an economic victory only in the strictest technical sense."

Mr Kicklighter said traders are focused on "bigger, more dramatic drivers".

"China is still the focus of most global investors attention," he said.

"The world's second largest economy, the principal commodity consumer and with the most dynamic financial system; fallout from further trouble could easily wrap the globe."

At 1700 AEDT, the Australian dollar was at 81.97 Japanese yen, up from Thursday's close of 81.65 yen, and at 63.92 euro cents, up from 63.81 euro cents.

Meanwhile the Australian bond market was virtually flat as commodity prices and the Australian dollar stabilises.

IG market strategist Angus Nicholson says market confidence has improved, thanks to good local economic data.

"Despite the vicious selloff we've seen in the ASX in 2016 the domestic economy has not fallen off a cliff," he said.

"Yesterday's employment figures emphasised that there was still momentum in job growth.

At 1630 AEDT on Friday, the March 2016 10-year bond futures contract was trading at 97.310 (implying a yield of 2.690 per cent), slightly down from 97.320 (2.680 per cent) on Thursday.

The March 2016 three-year bond futures contract was at 98.080 (1.920 per cent), level with the previous local close.

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$A steady as positive data largely ignored