Forex Pros – The New Zealand dollar was sharply lower against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday, amid escalating concerns over a nuclear leak following a third explosion at a quake stricken Japanese power station.

NZD/USD hit 0.7296 during late Asian trade, the pair’s lowest since September 24; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.7330, tumbling 0.83%.

The pair was likely to find support at 0.7129, the low of September 3 and resistance at 0.7414, Monday’s high.

Authorities said an explosion at the No. 2 reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, located 155 miles northeast of Tokyo, appears to have caused damage. Some staff had been evacuated from the facility as radiation levels at the site rose sharply.

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said there was a high risk of elevated levels of radiation from the reactor that exploded and urged people within 30 kilometers of the plant to stay indoors.

In a televised address, Prime Minister Kan said “Substantial amounts of radiation are leaking in the area,” urging people to remain calm. “We are making utmost efforts to prevent further explosions or the release of radioactive materials.”

The kiwi also fell sharply against the yen, with NZD/JPY plunging 0.97% to hit 59.74.

On Monday, the Bank of Japan announced that it was pumping a record JPY15 trillion into the financial system and doubling the size of its asset-purchase program to JPY10 trillion in an attempt to stabilize markets in the wake of Friday’s devastating earthquake and tsunami.

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