New York, Jun 5 (IANS): The US dollar declined as the easing of political tensions in Europe supported the euro.

In late New York trading on Monday, the euro increased to $1.1697 from $1.1663 in the previous session, and the British pound was down to $1.3315 from $1.3345 in the previous session, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Australian dollar rose to $0.7653 from $0.7570.

The US dollar bought 109.72 Japanese yen, higher than 109.53 Japanese yen of the previous session. The US dollar was down to 0.9881 Swiss franc from 0.9887 Swiss franc, and it fell to 1.2930 Canadian dollars from 1.2969 Canadian dollars.

The euro recovered on Monday as Italy took steps to form a new government and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said over the weekend that Germany favoured moves toward a European Monetary Fund.

The euro rose 0.32 per cent against the dollar in late trading on Monday. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, lost 0.14 per cent to 94.026 in late trading.