Euro higher in Asia

TOKYO: The euro climbed in Asia Thursday after a bid to topple Italy's government fell apart, while the US budget impasse raised fears of a catastrophic debt default, weighing on the dollar.

The European single currency bought $1.3606 in Tokyo, from $1.3580 in New York where it tumbled to an eight-month low. The euro was also higher at 132.87 yen, from 132.21 yen.

Bucking its downward trend, the dollar climbed to 97.68 yen, from 97.34 yen.

A Tokyo trader said the dollar-yen rate -- which has taken a beating since the US government went into shutdown mode this week -- gained institutional support from "big buying from a big Japanese player".

But another trader added: "The overall sentiment is to sell the dollar on the back of the partial US government shutdown".

The euro jumped after former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi abandoned his bid to topple Enrico Letta's government in a humiliating climbdown after key allies rebelled against his leadership.

The move averted a political crisis and restored a measure of stability in a nation struggling to put its public finances in order.