TOKYO: The dollar fell in Asia on Tuesday as cautious investors sought safe havens after a powerful early morning earthquake rattled buildings in Tokyo, dealers said.
The dollar stood at 84.19 yen, down from 84.67 yen in New York.
The euro was at $1.4411 and 121.37 yen, off from $1.4436 and 122.10 in New York Monday.
Investors locked in profits, taking cues from a 6.2-magnitude aftershock in Japan shortly after 8:00 am (2300 GMT Monday), a senior dealer at a major Japanese trust bank said.
After the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami which killed more than 13,000 people, with around 14,500 people still missing, Japan has experienced more than 400 major aftershocks stronger than 5.0 in magnitude.
The tsunami also severely damaged the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which has been releasing harmful radioactive materials.
Japan on Tuesday raised its rating of the severity of the accident to the highest level on an international scale, equal to that of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
The euro also came under pressure and was tipped to fall further on profit-taking "amid a relative lack of trading cues to further accelerate yen-carry trades," said Akira Hoshino, a senior dealer at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.
Hoshino added the dollar/yen could move between a 84.00-85.00 range.
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