SYDNEY: Australia's currency hit its lowest point against the US dollar in a year on Tuesday as global uncertainty grew about growth and Europe's debt crisis, analysts said.
The Aussie sank below 95 US cents for the first time since September 24 2010 in early Asian trade, and hit a low of 94.76 US cents, said Westpac senior currency strategist Sean Callow.
Callow said offshore events were driving the movement.
"It's really the fact that it got pulled down overnight very much in line with the US stock market," he told AFP.
"So heavy selling there and then Asian equities remain in negative territory so it's still that basic correlation... worries over global growth and (the) European debt crisis.
"It's still very much a barometer of global optimism and growth."
The commodities-linked Aussie hit parity with the greenback for the first time since the currency was floated in 1983 in October 2010 and remained above it for months, hitting a record of 1.1081 US dollars in July 2011.
It retreated briefly in the immediate aftermath of Japan's quake and nuclear crisis in March before again dropping below US$1.00 on August 9 following Standard & Poor's downgrade of the United States.
The Aussie again slipped below parity in late September on renewed fears about a global economic downturn.
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