Last night the New Zealand Dollar faced hard times bouncing along near six-year lows against the greenback, while the US Dollar reached a three-year peak against most major currencies.

BNZ Capital currency strategist Danica Hampton said the NZ dollar had been effected by current global financial turmoil.

Yesterday afternoon the NZ Dollar was buying US 49.12cents and dropped to its lowest level in seven years against the Australian dollar.

Tony Conroy of Forsyth Barr today commented Dunedin's rural areas producing exports will benefit from the situation, but import costs will rise, so consumer goods prices are likely to increase.