* Yen trims losses, trades in ranges vs dollar, euro
* Tokyo shares erase much of their gains, fuel risk aversion
* G20 fails to ease global recession worries
* Japan slips into recession in Q3
By Satomi Noguchi
TOKYO, Nov 17 (Reuters) - The yen trimmed losses against the dollar and euro on Monday as Tokyo stocks erased much of their earlier gains, fuelling investors' risk aversion.
Investors had initially turned more risk averse after the Group of 20 financial summit at the weekend failed to produce concrete measures to avert a global downturn, underpinning the yen as a safe-haven currency.
The Nikkei share average's rise of more than 3 percent earlier in the day reduced safe-haven buying of the yen and dollar in reaction to the G20 summit, weak U.S. economic data and late slide on Wall Street on Friday.
U.S. data showed a record fall in retail sales in October.
The yen was also hurt by data showing Japan slid into recession in the third quarter along with the euro zone.
But the Japanese currency trimmed losses as the earlier rise in the Nikkei evaporated, with the benchmark index ending the day up 0.7 percent.
"There are a lot of uncertainties over the global econonmy and financial conditions, which may be reflected in the sluggishness of the stock market, and helping to keep intact the safe-haven appeal of the yen," said a senior dealer at a Japanese trading firm.
The euro fell 0.3 percent from late New York trade on Friday to 121.90 yen, off the day's high of 122.86 yen and the low of 120.20 yen hit in early trade on trading platform EBS, with thin liquidity in the market exaggerating price movements.
The U.S. dollar was nearly flat at 96.96 yen, after rising as high as 97.56 yen earlier, but up from an earlier low of 95.87 yen.
The euro eased 0.3 percent to $1.2566, off the day's high of $1.2596.
"Trading is limited to narrow ranges as the market searches for a clear direction," the senior dealer said.
The G20 leaders from major industralised and developing countries produced lots of pledges of action but no concrete plan to ease global recession worries, which had earlier supported gains in the yen and the dollar.
"The summit also noted the need for broader policy responses, but mainly left it to individual economies to take the appropriate monetary and fiscal policy measures," noted analysts at ANZ.
Investors had hoped for an overall plan that would stimulate the global economy in the short term.
Market players are now waiting to see if developed and emerging economies will launch more economic stimulus plans, and how quickly such measures would be implemented.
"Speed is the most important part of the policy actions as world economies deteriorate quickly and more investors may need to liquidate risky investments," said Hideaki Inoue, chief manager of forex trading at Mitsubishi UFJ Trust Bank.
The Australian dollar initially sank more than 1.5 percent to $0.6363, but then jumped quickly near $0.65. Dealers suspected the Reserve Bank of Australia was intervening in the market, but the central bank would not confirm it had acted. The Aussie was nearly flat to trade at $0.6460.
The RBA intervened on at least two occasions last week, buying the Aussie around $0.6350 when the market was disorderly and lacking liquidity. (Additional reporting by Wayne Cole in Sydney and Chikako Mogi in Tokyo; Editing by Chris Gallagher)