Late Change NZD/USD 0.8381 -0.0147 NZD/AUD 0.8001 +0.0020 NZD/JPY 65.76 -1.825 April 2013 Bond 3.045% -21 bps May 2021 Bond 4.565% -17 bps 10-Year U.S. Spread +216 bps +5.0 bps 90-Day Bank Bill 2.87% -4.0 bps WELLINGTON (Dow Jones)--The New Zealand dollar was sharply lower late Friday after a ferocious selloff in risk currencies in New York trading, though it was off a low of US$0.8277. "The market may have gotten a little short...we are just seeing a bit of buying out of domestic corporates," said ANZ foreign-exchange manager Murray Hindley. The New Zealand dollar was sold off along with the Australian and Canadian dollars in one of the busiest sessions ever for foreign-exchange traders. Fears have shifted from a possible credit default by the U.S. government to the country's fragile economic outlook after the release of a string of weak economic data. Europe's growing debt crisis is also weighing heavily on investors' minds. The market is now bracing itself for the U.S. non-farm payrolls data due later in the global day for further clues about the U.S. economy. "It seems that the New Zealand dollar may be a safe port in a storm, but not in a hurricane," said ANZ senior trader Alex Sinton. Market expectations that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand might not reverse its 50-basis-point rate cut made in March when it meets in September is further weighing on the Kiwi. If both the U.S. and Europe continue to be unstable, the likelihood is that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand will hold the Official Cash Rate at its current 2.5%, said Hindley. Money markets went from pricing in about 35 basis points of rate hikes next month to fewer than 10 basis points -- which is to say, no rate hike -- according to Credit Suisse data. New Zealand government-bond yields and interest-rate swaps fell sharply on the change in expectations, said a local bond trader. He added that both curves had steepened slightly as rate expectations pushed out. --By Lucy Craymer, Dow Jones Newswires; 64-4-471-5990; lucy.craymer@dowjones.com

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