Yen jumps in Asia

The yen rose sharply on Tuesday and was the biggest gainer among major currencies over the past 24 hours as profit-taking on bets against it gathered momentum after Japanese authorities upgraded the nuclear crisis to a par with Chernobyl and several strong aftershocks hit Japan.
The US dollar, like the yen, found some reprieve as speculators locked in profits from positions taken against the low-yielding currency in favour of the euro and red-hot commodity plays such as the Australian dollar. The yen had been sliding after the Group of Seven (G7) countries sold the currency in last month's rare joint intervention - their first in more than a decade.
As speculators bought back the yen, especially against higher-yielding currencies such as the Australian dollar and the euro, the yen gained about 1.0 percent against the dollar, about 1.2 percent against the euro and 1.6 percent against the Australian dollar. The US dollar fell to 83.80 yen per dollar, off a seven-month high of 85.54 set on Thursday. It has managed to bounce near its 200-day moving average at 83.51 yen, although a break of that could pave the way for a test of 81.98 yen.
The euro slipped to 120.80 yen, down from Monday's peak of 123.33. The Australian dollar eased to 87.50 yen, having scaled a high of 90.02, its strongest since September 2008, hit on Monday. The US dollar had the upper hand against other currencies, gaining 0.6 percent against the Aussie, 0.5 percent against the Canadian dollar and 0.2 percent against the euro.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of major currencies, posted a slim gain to stand at 75.111, having found support after plumbing a 16-month low of 74.838 on Friday. The euro retreated from Friday's 15-month high around $1.4485 to $1.4400, but traders say the January 2010 high of $1.4582 remains in play. The Australian dollar fell to $1.0433, off a 29-year peak of $1.0585 set Friday.