The local currency had its worst week since May last year and fell to a 10-month low to under 98 US cents, while shares dropped below 4,000 points to their lowest in two years.
The week kicked off with bad news from Europe, as Greece tried to convince investors and other European Union countries that it would be able to repay its debt.
Investors weren't convinced that Greece could avoid default, or that Europe could stop the problem spreading, sending shares plunging around the world.
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The bad news continued through the week, with Italy's credit rating downgrade, poor economic figures from Europe and a series of downbeat assessments of the world's major economies by prominent financial figures.
Most notable was the International Monetary Fund's downgrade of its growth forecasts and the US Federal Reserve giving a stark warning about the health of the world's biggest economy.
To round it off, World Bank president Robert Zoellick warned the world is in "a danger zone", as G20 finance ministers gathered in Washington.
