Investors flocked to the safety of the dollar and yen Tuesday amid worries about sovereign credit ratings, with the euro hurt by a downgrade for Greece. The single European currency dropped to 1.4703 dollars at 2200 GMT from 1.4819 late Monday in New York, pressured by news that the Fitch rating agency downgraded Greece's long-term debt ratings, describing prospects for Greek public finances as negative. At one point, the euro was trading as low as 1.4681 dollars, falling below 1.47 dollars for the first time in over a month. The dollar was meanwhile trading at 88.38 yen against 89.57, with the Japanese currency holding firm as a haven from market turmoil. Adding to investor jitters was a warning from US ratings agency Moody's of a 'fiscal crisis' lasting 'several years' in Britain, France, Germany and the United States. Moody's said that although the financial crisis was nearing an end, major countries would be saddled with heavy debt burdens. A day earlier, Standard and Poor's placed Greece's long-term debt rating on its 'negative' watch list and warned that it too could lower the rating if the government failed to take firm measures to curb overspending. The announcements prompted fresh fears for the health of the eurozone, of which Greece is a member, and for the sustainability of the economic rebound. 'It is a decidedly risk-off environment once again,' said Samarjit Shankar at Bank of New York Mellon. Shankar said investors were paring exposure to the eurozone and emerging markets that are seen as riskier, or benefitting from an economic upturn. Sentiment was further shaken by a report that output in Germany's powerful industrial sector shrank in October after two months of solid gains. Output contracted by 1.8 percent from the previous month, according to seasonally adjusted preliminary figures published by the economy ministry, as the construction and energy sectors posted sharp losses. Michael Malpede at Easy Forex said the dollar and yen were helped by 'a spike in risk aversion' as equity markets tumbled on debt worries and the soft industrial production that appeared to 'generate concern about a possible double-dip recession in Europe.' Germany, one of the world's leading exporters and the eurozone's largest economy, has been battered by the recession as demand for its goods has screeched to a halt amid slumping global demand. The dollar's gains were limited by comments a day earlier from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke that the US economy still faces 'headwinds' despite some improvement, suggesting that US rates will remain at near-zero levels for some time. Bernankes comments 'were quite dovish,' said Camilla Sutton at Scotia Capital. 'We continue to believe that with unemployment at 10 percent and inflation contained the Fed will remain dovish, with tightening only emerging as a possibility in the second half of the year. Accordingly, we expect to see ongoing dollar weakness in the first half of 2010.' In late New York trade, the dollar stood at 1.0268 Swiss francs from 1.0199 Monday. The pound was at 1.6268 dollars after 1.6420. 