Rabat – Following the announcement of the complete stop of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline by the Russian Gazprom last week, the euro continues to decline against the US dollar, falling below $0.99 today.
The euro was down this morning by 0.71% to $0.9883, its lowest since December 2002, continuing to weaken against the dollar.
The Russian giant Gazprom announced on September 2 that the Nord Stream gas pipeline, which was supposed to resume service on Saturday after maintenance, will finally be “completely” shut down until a turbine on this pipeline, which is crucial for supplies to Europe, is repaired.
But Siemens Energy, the turbine manufacturer, said the shutdown is unjustified from a technical point of view.
This suggests that the decision is politically motivated, with Russia having repeatedly vowed to hit back at the West for imposing a series of sanctions on Moscow for its war in Ukraine.
Read also: How Euro’s Depreciation May Affect Morocco
Earlier in July, the euro fell against the US dollar by 0.4% for the first time in 20 years, reaching $0.998.
The first decline in euro value was attributed to the Russia-Ukraine war, causing serious crises in Europe.
European countries now face higher import costs as a result of the euro’s depreciation, particularly for essential goods priced in dollars, such as oil.
Beyond the EU, non-Western developing countries like Morocco have also been noticeably affected by the euro’s decline.
According to some analysts, the euro’s depreciation will affect Morocco because the country sells commodities in euros but purchases items on the global trade market in dollars.
Morocco’s tourism industry can also be affected since Europeans continue to make up a sizable portion of the tourists that visit the country each year.
This is in addition to the remittances from the Moroccan diaspora that will also be affected, as the majority of them live in Europe.
