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AUSTRALIA 
Aussie dollar falls to three-year low
Tuesday, 7 October, 2008
The Australian dollar has fallen close to $US0.7000 for the first time since September 2004, with the local unit losing almost five US cents overnight as share markets around the world plunged.
The domestic currency sunk to a three-year low of $US0.7005 at 0553 AEDT, a fall of 6.6 per cent since Monday's local close of 0.7497.
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The Australian dollar has now fallen by 29 per cent since mid July when it reached a 25-year high of $US0.9849, and has shed 13 per cent in the past week alone.
The local unit fell below $US0.7500 Monday for the first time since October 2006, as the currency lost three US cents during the domestic session.
High-yielding currencies took a hit overnight as the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell below the key psychological level of 10,000 points for the first time since October 2004.
The blue-chip index appears to have shed 6.72 per cent, or 694.21 points, to finish the New York session at 9,631.17.
European stock markets have posted massive losses of seven to nine per cent overnight on fears for the health of the European banking system as a global financial crisis deepened.
Source: AAP
