The euro fell on Tuesday, almost touching parity with the dollar.

A threshold not crossed for two decades,

A threshold not crossed for two decades,

Weighed down by the likelihood of recession triggered by an energy crunch and an ECB rate rise campaign that lags far behind that of the Fed.

The dollar index, a measure against six counterparts, with the euro most heavily weighted, was up 0.3% at 108.45

It had earlier climbed to 108.47, its highest since October 2002.

The euro has borne the brunt of dollar strength, falling as low as $1.00005

The biggest pipeline carrying Russian gas to Germany, the Nord Stream 1, began annual maintenance on Monday,

The euro came close to being tipped over the edge after a dire reading from the ZEW economic research institute,