NEW YORK: Commodity currencies posted sharp losses on Wednesday, with the New Zealand dollar falling more than 3 percent against the US dollar and the Australian currency dropping nearly 2 percent.

Investors were generally in "risk-off" mode, with US stock indexes declining more than 3 percent on the day. Sharp losses in the shares of French banks contributed to heightened risk aversion in the market.

The New Zealand dollar fell as low as US$0.8076 versus the greenback and last traded at US$0.8095, down 3.4 percent. The Kiwi dollar was on track for its worst trading day since January 2009.

The Aussie dollar, meanwhile, slid to US$1.0165, or 1.7 percent lower from late on Tuesday.

 

Copyright Reuters, 2011

 

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