Early trade in New York: Dollar drops in choppy trading

NEW YORK: The safe-haven US dollar fell on Thursday in choppy trading and riskier currencies including the Australian dollar reversed earlier losses as stocks rebounded, and as investors repositioned portfolios for month-end.

The dollar was boosted by safety buying earlier this week on concerns that US fiscal stimulus will not be as large as originally hoped, and due to the continuing spread of COVID-19 as countries struggle to roll out vaccines.

The dollar has rebounded from three-year lows reached earlier this month, with the recent decline viewed as having run too far too fast.

The dollar index against a basket of currencies is up 0.50% this month after falling more than 6% last year. It was last down 0.22% on the day at 90.46.

The Australian dollar gained 0.08% to $0.7669, after earlier falling to $0.7590, the lowest since Dec. 29.

The greenback fell 0.06% against the Canadian dollar to 1.2799 Canadian dollars, after earlier rising to a month-month high of 1.2881.

The euro was last up 0.19% at $1.2136, reversing earlier losses.