* Australian dollar soars after GDP reading
* Chinese, Australian data lift risk appetite
* U.S. manufacturing grows more quickly than expected (Adds comment, updates prices)
By Wanfeng Zhou
NEW YORK, Sept 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar and yen fell broadly on Wednesday after upbeat data around the world soothed worries about the health of the global economy, boosting investors' appetite for riskier assets.
The U.S. manufacturing sector grew more quickly than expected in August, China's factory activity regained momentum and Australia's economy grew at its fastest pace in three years last quarter.
Reduced fears of a renewed global slowdown sent investors into perceived riskier currencies such as the euro and Australian dollar.
Analysts cautioned, however, the rally in such currencies may be short-lived as concerns about the state of the global recovery persist. They expect safe-haven currencies to remain firm after the yen hit a 15-year high last week on fears U.S. economic recovery was faltering.
"The acceleration in manufacturing activity in the U.S. and China alleviates some of the fears for a global slowdown and a double dip recession in the U.S," said Kathy Lien, director of currency research at GFT in New York.
In mid-morning trading, the ICE Futures U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback versus a basket of six currencies, fell 1 percent to 82.403.
The euro rose 1.1 percent to $1.2822 and rallied 1.5 percent to 108.34 yen. The dollar gained 0.4 percent to 84.46 yen.
The Australian dollar jumped 2 percent to US$0.9083. It had earlier hit a session peak of US$0.9098, the highest in two weeks, after Australian GDP data revived expectations of a further rise in interest rates.
"The Aussie seems to be driving things on the day. There's a bit of optimism in the market and the risk-on currencies are benefiting," said Paul Mackel, director of currency strategy at HSBC.
A report earlier showing U.S. private employers unexpectedly cut 10,000 jobs in August slightly dented market sentiment, but the impact on currencies was limited.
The U.S. government nonfarm payrolls report is scheduled to be released on Friday.
(Editing by Andrew Hay)