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The New Zealand dollar has ended the working day sitting over 81 US cents.
The kiwi traded as low as 81.09 US cents at 3.25 pm, a little over an hour after a magnitude 6.0 aftershock hit Christchurch.
By 6pm it had recovered slightly to trade in a fairly narrow range around 81.25 to 81.40 US cents.
The New Zealand dollar started the day up above 82 cents against the greenback but plunged on the aftershocks with the first major one - which measured 5.5 in magnitude - knocking half a US cent off the local currency.
Today's damage spells more unknown, but substantial cost to the insurance industry, the New Zealand Government, and to the country's economic performance.
Christchurch retail statistics had been showing the city finally getting back to normal after the February 22 6.6 magnitude aftershock, which brought down large parts of the CBD, and caused the loss of 181 lives.
The kiwi has recently touched a 26 year post-float high of 83 US cents, threatening booming export returns and perplexing the Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Dr Alan Bollard, who signalled an earlier return to interest rate rises than previously expected in last Thursday's Monetary Policy Statement.
The dollar is likely to fall further against the greenback this
week, on the effects of the latest Christchurch earthquakes,
currency traders are saying.
"You've got to say that any perceived upside from the Christchurch
rebuild has been pushed back now, with Bollard likely to hold back
on when he will lift rates, possibly well into next year," said Tim
Kelleher, head of institutional FX sales New Zealand at ASB
Institutional.
Kelleher said the fall in the currency was exaggerated by market
positioning, with traders scrambling to cover their long positions
on the kiwi dollar.
He said the market seemed to have ignored the cautious tone
underlying the MPS.
