The yen and Swiss franc gained on Tuesday as Japan's nuclear situation worsened and commodities sold off, prompting investors to unload risky assets funded by the two low-yielding currencies. In midday trading, the euro has come off its peaks, trading 0.2 percent on the day at $1.4455. Earlier, it surged to $1.4518, the euro's highest since mid-January 2010.
According to electronic trading platform EBS. Against the yen, the euro was down 0.9 percent at 121.15, recovering from a low of 120.16 yen hit earlier in the day. The US dollar was down 0.9 percent at 83.79 yen, near technical support at its 200-day moving average just below 83.50. The dollar fell 0.9 percent against the Swiss franc to 0.89830. It earlier dropped to 0.89446, its lowest in more than three weeks.