By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The dollar fell against most currencies in choppy trading on Wednesday, as risk sentiment improved on renewed hopes for another stimulus package that could help ease the economic pain of the coronavirus-induced recession.

Overall, the dollar posted it worst quarter since September 2017, with a fall of about 3.5% as expectations for a swift recovery from the COVID-19 economic crash made investors exit safe havens and buy into riskier currencies.

The greenback slid against the Japanese yen and weakened versus currencies associated with higher risk appetite such as the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars.

U.S. House of Representative Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin met on Wednesday in a bid to broker a bipartisan deal on stalled COVID-19 relief legislation ahead of the Nov. 3 election.

Shares on Wall Street rose, while U.S. Treasury prices fell as risk aversion eased.