CANBERA (Alliance News) - The euro advanced against most major counterparts in European deals on Monday, as European stocks rose despite Ukraine concerns. Reports on mergers and acquisitions activity boosted European shares. AstraZeneca's shares jumped during the session as Pfizer confirmed its bid for the UK drug maker. The ambassadors from EU's 28 member states are meeting in Brussels today to introduce more sanctions against Russia amid deepening crisis in Ukraine. More Russian officials close to President Vladimir Putin would be named in the blacklist. In economic news, German import prices fell most since August 2013 driven by a sharp decline in energy prices, data from Destatis showed today. Import prices fell 3.3% year-on-year in March, the sharpest fall in seven months and exceeded the 2.8% decrease forecast by economists. The euro appreciated to 1.3878 against the greenback for the first time since April 11. This is up by 0.5% from an early 4-day low of 1.3814. The next possible upside target for the euro lies around the 1.40 area. The euro spiked up to near a 4-week high of 142.02 against the yen, off early low of 140.98 set in near 2-weeks. If the euro extends gain, it may face resistance around the 143.00 zone. The euro recovered from an early low of 0.8217 against the pound and climbed back to 0.8236. The euro is thus short of few pips to pierce its early Asian session's multi-day high of 0.8243. On the upside, 0.83 is seen as the next resistance for the euro. The euro rose back to 1.4935 against the Australian dollar, moving away from an early 5-day low of 1.4854. Continuation of uptrend may see the euro seeking resistance around the 1.50 zone. The euro spiked up to nearly a 5-week high of 1.5304 against the loonie and a 5-week high of 1.6209 against the kiwi, off early lows of 1.5239 and 1.6102, respectively. The euro may find resistance around 1.54 against the loonie and 1.63 against the kiwi. Looking ahead, US spending home sales data for March is due at 10:00 am ET.

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