$A nears 7-year low on China data

The Australian dollar has dropped sharply after China recorded its weakest full year growth rate in 25 years.

The Australian dollar has shed more than half a US cent after China recorded its weakest full year growth figure in a quarter of a century.

The currency crashed to a near seven-year low of 68.39 US cents at 1322 AEDT, down from 68.91 US cents shortly before the data was released.

China's economic gross domestic product edged down to 6.8 per cent in the final quarter of 2015, dragging the full year's growth to a 25-year low of 6.9 per cent.