The U.S. dollar surpassed the euro for the first time in two decades on Wednesday, amid concerns over gas imports and the European Central Bank's hesitance to raise interest rates.

At its lowest point, the value of 1 euro briefly reached the equivalent of $0.9998.

The European Central Bank determined an exchange rate of $1.0067 on Wednesday, compared to 1.0042 on Tuesday. One dollar is therefore worth 0.9933 euros.

It is the first time since 2002 that the euro has reached so-called parity with the dollar. Parity is a situation in which two currencies are equally valued. While not economically significant per se, it sends a strong signal of the current weakness of the euro currency.

The euro's weakness is largely due to fears of an energy crisis in Europe. Should Russia halt gas imports to Europe, this could have severe economic consequences, not least for Germany, the largest economy in the Eurozone, which is heavily reliant on Russian energy imports.

A further factor in the euro's slide has been the ECB's hesitant approach to fighting inflation. The ECB has not raised interest rates as quickly or substantially as other central banks.

In other exchange rates, the ECB determined that 1 euro is equal to 0.84371 British pounds, 138.02 Japanese Yen and 0.9829 Swiss Francs.