Euro falls against dollar as euro zone economy shrinks in the fourth quarter

NEW YORK – Signs that the recession is deepening in the 17 countries that use the euro are pushing the currency lower against the dollar.

The euro fell to $1.3338 in afternoon trading from $1.3450 late Wednesday.

Eurostat, the European Union's statistics office, says the euro zone economy shrank 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter from the previous quarter.

In other trading, the British pound fell to $1.5492 from $1.5545.

The dollar fell to 93.02 Japanese yen from 93.46 yen.

The dollar rose to 0.9235 Swiss franc from 0.9175 Swiss franc.