The New Zealand dollar fell more than 1 US cent after the Federal Open Market Committee gave an upbeat view of the US economy following a string of positive US data.
The New Zealand dollar fell to 80.73 US cents at 8am down from 82.09 cents yesterday at 5pm.
The greenback advanced against most major currencies after the Fed's assessment of the world's largest economy, where consumer spending is rising and Americans enjoy the best six-month stretch of jobs growth since 2006.
"The kiwi got hammered overnight," said Stuart Ive, currency strategist at HiFX. "There has been some serious risk off - everything is a little bit lower and it is all US based."
More evidence of a revival in the US economy is expected this month, with fourth-quarter gross domestic product forecast to have grown 2.5 per cent, up from 2 per cent three months earlier. For the whole year the US economy may have expanded 2.2 per cent, up from 1.7 per cent in 2010.