* Euro rises as far as $1.4352, above 122 yen
* U.S. crude above $110 a barrel, Brent crude tops $123
* Nikkei up 0.9 percent, MSCI Asia ex-Japan gains 0.3
percent
* Gold near record above $1,464 an ounce
By Alex Richardson
SINGAPORE, April 8 (Reuters) - The dollar fell to a near
15-month low to the euro on Friday amid fears of a U.S.
government shutdown, while crude oil rose to a two-and-a-half
year high on worries that war in Libya and unrest in the Middle
East will disrupt supplies.
Higher oil prices also encouraged money to flow out of the
dollar into the euro and stoked concerns about commodity-fuelled
inflation that helped propel gold to another record.
Asian shares rose by up to 0.7 percent as it appeared a
strong aftershock that struck Japan's earthquake-ravaged
northeast late on Thursday had not done major damage. News of
the aftershock had pressured U.S. and European stock markets
overnight.
U.S. President Barack Obama and congressional leaders failed
to reach a deal on Thursday in a budget row that could see the
federal government closed down at midnight on Friday, potential
crimping the economic recovery. []
The euro rose as high as $1.4352 , its highest since
mid-January 2010, bringing its gains for the year to 7 percent.
The European Central Bank raised its key interest rate to
1.25 percent on Thursday, as had been widely expected, widening
the euro zone's yield advantage over the United States, Britain
and Japan, where policy rates remain at record lows.
The euro slid around 20 percent against the dollar between
November 2009 and the middle of last year, but has been on a
broadly appreciating trend since then.
The single currency bought around 122.40 yen ,
below an 11-month high at 122.67 yen. The dollar was around
85.25 yen , down from a six-month high around 85.54 yen
set on Thursday.
EMERGING MARKETS ROAR
U.S. And European stocks fell around 0.2 percent after a 7.4
magnitude earthquake shook the northeast of Japan's main island,
which was devastated by a massive 9.0 magnitude quake and
tsunami four weeks ago.
Tokyo's Nikkei share average opened lower, but was
later up 0.9 percent as it seemed the latest quake had not
caused major damage.
The Nikkei has regained more than two-thirds of the losses
sustained in the immediate aftermath of the March 11 quake, but
investors remain concerned about the impact on corporate profits
after it knocked out production and crippled a nuclear plant.
"People are buying shares for now, but it's not going to
last long," said Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager at
Ichiyoshi Investment Management.
"Fundamentals remain unclear and extreme uncertainty
surrounding earnings, with many firms set not to provide annual
forecasts will keep a lid on the market's gains."
MSCI's index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan
rose 0.3 percent, recording the latest in a
series of near three-year highs it has struck over the past
week.
After a patchy start to the year -- in part due to concerns
about policy tightening in response to energy and food-led
inflation -- emerging markets have roared back in recent weeks.
Data from Lipper on Thursday showed a net inflow of $2.7
billion into emerging market equities in the week to April 6,
the fourth-highest weekly total since the fund tracker began
compiling the data in 1992. []
U.S. crude rose 0.6 percent to $110.93 a barrel and Brent
crude <LCOc1> gained 0.6 percent to $123.39, both the highest
since August 2008.
Gold rose above $1,465 an ounce to the latest in a
series of records. Gold is popular with investors both as a
hedge against inflation and a falling dollar and a safe haven at
a time of geopolitical uncertainty.
Japanese government bonds edged lower, with benchmark
10-year futures <2JGBv1> down 0.05 point and the 10-year yield
up 1 basis point at 1.315 percent.
(Editing by Kim Coghill)
