The Australian dollar slid to its lowest level in over a month on Thursday as bleak economic data and more global financial worries spurred investors to sell riskier assets such as stocks and higher-yielding currencies. The Aussie, which started the day on a weak note following a sell-off in US stocks, fell further after weak jobs data at home and a record fall in Japanese machinery orders pointed to more pain ahead in the world economy.
"The general tone to the data around the globe has been downbeat over the past week," said Jonathan Cavenagh, a currency strategist at Westpac. "The overall macro environment suggest the risks are for further weakness in the Aussie from here," he said.
The Aussie weakened to $0.6574, the lowest level since December 12, and compared to $0.6760 seen here on Wednesday. Australian employment fell by less than expected overall in December but a steep drop in full-time positions and a rise in jobless rate heralded more weakness ahead, reinforcing the case for more interest rate cuts.