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