Australian dollar drops 1.5% to hit 6-year low

[LONDON] The Australian dollar fell sharply to hit a six-year low against its US counterpart on Friday, hurt by disappointing retail sales data in Australia, weak data from the services sector in China and a continued sell-off in the Shanghai stock market.

China is Australia's biggest trading partner and the Aussie dollar is often used as a more liquid proxy by investors for exposure to the Asian giant. Investors are also wary of riskier assets and and higher-yielding currencies before Greece's referendum on bailout conditions at the weekend.

The Aussie fell to US$0.7511, down 1.5 per cent on the day, and its lowest level since mid-2009.

It had come under pressure in the Asian trading session after data showed local retail sales rose 0.3 per cent in May, short of the 0.5 per cent increase forecast. The previous month was downwardly revised to a fall of 0.1 per cent, the first monthly decline in 11 months.

REUTERS