Australian shares plummet to six-month low

It was the third straight week of declines for the ASX200, giving up 3.9 per cent since last Friday's close and eclipsing the 3.0 per cent decline from a fortnight ago, which had been the worst loss in more than two years.

The index is down more than 7.5 per cent from its all time high of 8,615.2 on February 14, and has fallen for four straight sessions amid high uncertainty over US trade policy announcements.

The Australian dollar was 1.7 per cent stronger against the greenback for the week, buying 63.06 US cents, down slightly for the day from 63.38 US cents at 5pm on Thursday.