The euro and the US dollar at parity for the first time in 20 years
(CNN) Given the continuing spike in natural gas prices and the war in Ukraine, the Euro’s value has fallen to the same value as the US dollar for the first time in two decades.
The Euro has gone down approximately 12% since the start of 2022, hitting $1 on Tuesday.
With the two currencies now worth the same, fears of a recession in Europe are rising, stoked by high inflation and energy supply uncertainty caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The European Union, which received roughly 40% of its gas through Russian pipelines before the war, is now scrambling to reduce its dependence on Russian oil and gas.
Now that critical piece of gas import infrastructure in Europe, has been shut down for scheduled maintenance due to last 10 days. German officials fear that it may not be turned on again.
The energy crisis comes alongside an economic slowdown, which has cast doubts over whether the European Central Bank can adequately tighten policy to bring down inflation.
The Bank is expected to hike interest rates this month for the first time since 2011, as the eurozone inflation rate sits at 8.6%.
Germany recorded its first trade deficit in goods since 1991 last week as fuel prices and general supply chain chaos significantly increased the price of imports.
