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SYDNEY, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Australian shares fell sharply on Friday, thanks to plunging commodity prices as oil, gold and copper hit multi-year lows amid expectations the United States will hike interest rates next month. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N13764T
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO dropped 74.4 points or 1.5 percent to 5,051.3 at the close of trade. The benchmark lost 3.1 percent for the week, and is down 7 percent this year.
New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index .NZ50 fell 34.9 points or 0.6 percent to finish the session at 5,989.0, down 1.3 percent for the week.