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For the first time in two decades, the American dollar is worth the same amount as the Euro 

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For the first time in 2 decades, the US dollar and the Euro shared the same value. On Tuesday morning, the Euro dipped as far as $1.00005. It did have a mini recovery and crept up to $1.0061. This does however represent a 12% decrease since the start of the year.

Europe is facing a possible recession, experts have said that this is down to dependence on Russian oil, which has been in shorter supply since the war, inflation has also played its part.

“Nobody is under any illusions anymore. Russia’s use of its natural gas resources as an economic and political weapon show Europe needs to act quickly to be ready to face considerable uncertainty over Russian gas supplies next winter,” said Fatih Birol, director of the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Birol added, “The IEA’s 10-Point Plan provides practical steps to cut Europe’s reliance on Russian gas imports by over a third within a year while supporting the shift to clean energy in a secure and affordable way. Europe needs to rapidly reduce the dominant role of Russia in its energy markets and ramp up the alternatives as quickly as possible.”

The European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson said: “Reducing our dependence on Russian gas is a strategic imperative for the European Union. In recent years, we have already significantly diversified our supply, building LNG terminals and new interconnectors. But Russia’s attack on Ukraine is a watershed moment. Next week, the Commission will propose a pathway for Europe to become independent from Russian gas as soon as possible. The IEA’s analysis outlines a number of concrete steps we can take towards that goal. It is a very timely and valuable contribution to our work.”

The ECB has announced its intentions to increase interest rates for the first time since 2011 in an attempt to stave off inflation. The ECB said in their announcement that inflation in the Eurozone is currently 8.6%. But as CNN noted, some experts have said that this move is too little too late and a recession is inevitable.

“Given the nature of Germany’s exports which are commodity-price sensitive, it remains hard to imagine that the trade balance could improve significantly from here in the next few months given the expected slowdown in the eurozone economy,” Saxo Bank foreign exchange strategists wrote in a recent note.

The US has already increased interest rates by 75 points and have hinted at the possibility of further increases as early as this month.

ARTICLE: PAUL MURDOCH 

MANAGING EDITOR: CARSON CHOATE

PHOTO CREDITS: FORTUNE.COM

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Paul Murdoch

Paul, 37, is from Scotland in the UK, but currently lives and works in Bangkok. Paul has worked in different industries such as telemarketing, retail, hospitality, farming, insurance, and teaching, where he works now. He teaches at an all-girls High School in Bangkok. “It’s a lot of work, but I love my job.” Paul has an active interest in politics. His reason for writing for FBA is to offer people the facts and allow them to make up their own minds. Whilst he believes opinion columns have their place, it is also important that people can have accurate news with no bias.

Paul, 37, is from Scotland in the UK, but currently lives and works in Bangkok. Paul has worked in different industries such as telemarketing, retail, hospitality, farming, insurance, and teaching, where he works now. He teaches at an all-girls High School in Bangkok. “It’s a lot of work, but I love my job.” Paul has an active interest in politics. His reason for writing for FBA is to offer people the facts and allow them to make up their own minds. Whilst he believes opinion columns have their place, it is also important that people can have accurate news with no bias.

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