That hurt the euro, dragged down Asian stocks and the overall downbeat mood also weighed on the Aussie. The Aussie hovered around $0.8905 after touching a one-month low of $0.8884. It is down a cent for the week and well off last week's high of $0.9263.
The Aussie also hit a six-week low against the yen at 79.67 yen, with investors seeking refuge in the safe-haven yen as stocks fell globally. The Aussie lost nearly 4.0 percent in January. But John Kyriakopoulos, a currency strategist at National Australia Bank, said risk aversion among investors may not last. "Through most of the week, US economic data has been disappointing. We need to see better news on the US economy, a circuit breaker to risk aversion," Kyriakopoulos said.