Euro Advances As Italy's Popular Coalition Fails To Form Govt.

The euro climbed against its major counterparts on Monday, as Italy's Prime Minister-designate Giuseppe Conte gave up his mandate to form a new government after the President refused to accept the nomination for finance minister, raising the possibility for another election this year.

Conte's efforts to form a government collapsed after the President quashed the nomination of eurosceptic economist Paolo Savona as finance minister.

Mattarella has summoned Carlo Cottarelli, former official at the International Monetary Fund, to discuss forming an interim government until early elections.

Opposing the move, Five Star leader Luigi Di Maio called for the President's impeachment under article 90 of the constitution.

The euro climbed to 1.1728 against the greenback, from a low of 1.1676 seen at 6:00 pm ET. The euro is poised to challenge resistance around the 1.19 level.

The euro advanced to 1.1628 against the Swiss franc, compared to 1.1557 hit late New York Friday. The euro is likely to find resistance around the 1.18 level.

The single currency rose to a session's high of 128.53 against the yen, from last week's closing value of 127.68. On the upside, 130.00 is likely seen as the next resistance for the euro.

Data from the Bank of Japan showed that Japan producer prices jumped 0.9 percent on year in April.

That topped expectations for an increase of 0.5 percent, which would have been unchanged from the March reading.

The 19-nation currency held steady against the pound, after having advanced to a 5-day high of 0.8795 early in the Asian session. The pair was valued at 0.8760 when it had closed deals on Friday.

The euro firmed to near a 2-week high of 1.5225 against the loonie and a 4-day high of 1.5496 against the aussie, from its early lows of 1.5139 and 1.5445, respectively. If the euro continues its rise, 1.53 and 1.56 are possibly seen as its next resistance levels against the loonie and the aussie, respectively.

The U.S. markets will remain closed for Memorial Day holiday.