Aussie Dollar Falls Below US60c for First Time Since Pandemic

The Aussie dollar has just dipped below 60 US cents — something we haven’t seen since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Bloomberg, it was sitting at around US59.91c by 8:30am AEST, after briefly dropping as low as US59.33c earlier in the morning. It did manage to claw its way back above 60c a little later, hitting US60.04c around 9:35am — but only just.

This drop comes amid some pretty shaky global conditions. The Australian Stock Exchange is bracing for more turbulence as global trade tensions heat up. The White House has slapped new tariffs on imports, kicking off another round of tit-for-tat trade moves, and there's growing fear of a US recession that could send shockwaves through the global economy.

Australia's deeply connected to China, which has been in the crosshairs of these tariffs too. So any economic bumps there could definitely be felt here.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has already said Australia won’t be hitting back with its own tariffs, even after the US slapped a broad 10% levy on Aussie imports.

Not long ago — last September — the Aussie dollar was riding a bit higher at over 69 US cents, and even in December it was above 64c. But with so much uncertainty and strong US employment numbers boosting the greenback, the Australian dollar's been taking a hit.