Euro falls to parity with USD, hitting 20-year low

FRANKFURT - For the first time in two decades, the euro on Tuesday falls to parity with the US dollar, meaning one US dollar is equal in value to one euro.

The single currency of 19 European Union countries has not fallen to or below a one-to-one exchange rate with the US dollar since December 2002.

The euro continued to fall from Tuesday morning and traded at par with the US dollar in a short-term in intraday trading.

After reaching parity, the euro exchange rate picked up again slightly. As of 4:20 pm local time (1420 GMT), euro was trading for 1.005 dollars in the currency market.

The euro will continue to fall even after falling below par with the dollar, said Ebrahim Rahbari, global head of foreign exchange analysis at Citigroup.

Euro has slumped 10 percent against US dollar since the start of the year, according to data from European Central Bank (ECB).