New Zealand Dollar Slumps to Two-Month Low After Earthquake

Feb. 22 (Bloomberg) - New Zealand's currency slid to the Lowest since December against the U.S. dollar after a magnitude 6.3 earthquake killed at Least 65 people and toppled buildings in Christchurch, the nation's second-largest city.

The kiwi, as the New Zealand dollar is nicknamed, slid versus all of the ITS 16 most-Traded counter parts after the temblor, Which Followed a quake in September. The kiwi and Australia's dollar as investors Fell Also Sold Higher-yielding assets on Violence flared in Libya.

"The earthquake has caught the market in a risk-averse mood anyway with the yen Strengthening and Oil Prices Rising is Tensions in the Middle East," said Jonathan Cavenagh, a currency strategic in Singapore at Westpac Banking Corp., Australia's second-largest lender.

New Zealand's dollar dropped as much as 2.4 Percent Thurs touch 74.55 U.S. cents, the Lowest Level since Dec. 23, before trading at 74.85 U.S. cents at 12:41 p.m. In New York, down 2 cents to 76.38 Percent from yesterday. It tumbled as much as 2.7 Percent Thurs 61.83 yen, the weakest level since Dec. 23. The kiwi's declines against Both were Currencies The Biggest is an intraday basis-since July.

Australia's currency weakened 1 Percent Thurs 99.94 U.S. cents, from $ 1.0094, and Fell 1.4 Percent Thurs 82.74 yen.