Euro sharpens decline to 20-year lows amid the fuel crisis

Euro fell in European trade against dollar for the seventh session in  a row, hitting 20-year lows as the natural gas crisis deepens in Europe and hurts economic performance. 

The dollar hit fresh 20-year highs recently, with US 10-year treasury yields surpassing 4% for the first time since 2008 following a spate of bullish remarks by Fed officials. 

EUR/USD fell 0.5% to 0.9541, the lowest since June 2002, after losing 0.2% yesterday, the sixth loss in a row, and the longest such streak since April following strong US economic sentiment data. 

Fuel Crisis

The European Union started investigations in potential attacks on Russian gas pipelines in the Baltics, which feed Germany, Denmark, and Sweden. 

Such developments threaten to exacerbate the fuel crisis even more in Europe and send natural gas prices to fresh record highs, weighing further on the economy. 

The Dollar

The dollar index rose over 0.5% on Wednesday for the fourth straight session, hitting fresh 20-year highs at 114.77 against a basket of major rivals. 

US 10-year treasury yields rose 1.7% for the third straight session to 4.011%,  the highest since October 2008, bolstering the case for dollar investments. 

Such developments came after a spate of strong US data and bullish remarks by Fed officials on optimism for reining in inflation without hurting economic output.