OSLO, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti said on Monday he is not currently considering whether to stand in elections early next year and that the market reaction to his plan to quit early should not be dramatised.

'I'm not considering this particular issue at this stage. All my efforts are being devoted to the completion of the remaining time of the current government,' he told reporters in Oslo in reply to a question on whether he intended to run in an election expected in February.

'I understand market reactions, they need not be dramatised. I am very confident that the Italian elections, when they come, will give room to whatever coalition...the government will be, in my view, a highly responsible one,' Monti told a news conference.

(Reporting By Luke Baker and Balazs Koranyi, writing by Catherine Hornby) Keywords: ITALY MONTI/

(catherine.hornby@thomsonreuters.com)(+ 39 0685 224 394)(Reuters Messaging: catherine.hornby.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)

COPYRIGHT

Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. All rights reserved.

The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.