Sharjah24 - Reuters: The euro hovered close to a 20-year low near parity to the dollar on Tuesday amid concerns that an energy crisis could tip Europe into recession, while the U.S. Federal Reserve continues to aggressively tighten policy to curb inflation.

The single currency fell as low as $1.0006 on Monday, the lowest since December 2002.

The dollar index - which measures the greenback against six major peers, with the euro most heavily weighted - was also little changed at 108.17, following its surge overnight to the highest since October 2002 at 108.26.

The biggest single pipeline carrying Russian gas to Germany, the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, began annual maintenance on Monday, with flows expected to stop for 10 days.

Governments, markets and companies are worried Russia might extend the shutdown because of the war in Ukraine, exacerbating the continent's energy supply crunch and potentially speeding a recession.

Euro weakness has been a big part of the dollar index's push higher, with the safe-haven U.S. currency also supported by worries about growth elsewhere too, with China in particular implementing strict zero-COVID policies to contain fresh outbreaks.