NEW YORK, Nov 15: The dollar and yen attracted buyers on Friday as investors looked for safety amid news that the eurozone fell into recession and world leaders met for a summit in Washington on the global financial crisis.

At 2200 GMT, the euro fell to $1.2591 from $1.2779 late in New York on Thursday.

The dollar dropped slightly to 97.06 yen from 97.67 yen on Thursday.

The pound remained sharply lower meanwhile at $1.4733 from $1.482, after hitting a six-year low of 1.4557 earlier in the week.

The market digested news that the eurozone was in recession, and data showing a steep fall in US retail sales, the main driver of economic activity.

The Commerce Department said US retail sales tumbled a record 2.8 per cent in October as consumers hunkered down in the face of a sharply slowing economy.

The retail report wasn’t fundamentally bullish for US assets, but instead, the disappointing nature of the news triggered flight to quality, said Terri Belkas at Forex Capital Management.

Independent currency analyst Larry Greenberg said: “Recent foreign exchange movements have exceeded what fundamental economic discrepancies justify.

The biggest winner in this reconfiguration has been the yen followed by the dollar.—AFP