Sharjah 24- Reuters: The dollar strengthened versus safe-haven currencies like the yen and the Swiss franc after the Omicron COVID-19 variation announcement, while the Australian currency strengthened amid recent growth concerns.

Initial Omicron patient assessments revealed minor symptoms, restoring part of Friday's strong selloff.

While Omicron has spread to almost one-third of US states as of Sunday, top infectious disease authority Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN that "so far it doesn't appear to be that severe."

"The lack of negative news surrounding Omicron over the weekend looks to be helping markets stabilize today," said Marc Chandler, chief market strategist at Bannockburn Global Forex.

The dollar advanced 0.3% against the yen and 0.6% against the franc.  Both currencies usually attract investors seeking protection when economic or geopolitical difficulties grow.

The US CFTC said on Friday that net long dollar bets had risen to their highest level since June 2019.

The Australian currency surged 0.66 percent, bouncing back from a 13-month low last week.

The Canadian dollar climbed versus the US dollar on Monday as oil prices surged and investors awaited the Bank of Canada's interest rate announcement this week.

Across the board, cryptocurrencies were battered by a chaotic weekend that saw bitcoin fall over 20%. On Monday, bitcoin fell 2.7 percent to $48,146.46.