The euroThe snow smashed against it U.S. dollarWednesday morning was a busy day for investors as they became more concerned about energy supplies and the possibility of a recession.

For the first time in 2017 has the euro fallen below $1.06 The euro was 0.4% below $1.06 for the session, before recovering some of its losses. As traders worry about a slowdown in economic growth, or even a recession, the dollar has surged over recent weeks.

As the Russian state energy company, Russia’s market movements are evident Gazprom decided to halt natural gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria — two members of the European Union — with Moscow demanding payment in rubles. Following Russia’s unprovoked invasion in Ukraine on February 24, tensions are continuing to mount between Moscow, the West and Moscow.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, accused Russia for extorting it to reduce its supplies. With 40% of EU imports from Russia, the EU is heavily dependent upon Russian gas. There are also concerns over a wider economic slowdown.

CNBC spoke Wednesday with James von Moltke (chief financial officer at Deutsche Bank), about Gazprom’s decision. “I don’t think it has an immediate impact on the economy … but it remains a risk for the overall outlook,” he added.

The International Monetary Fund The euro area was expected to grow by 2.8% in the coming year, as predicted earlier this month. This forecast is 1 percentage point less than the one made prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The main way the sanctions against Russia, the war in Ukraine, and rising energy prices have an impact on the euro zone economy is through their energy security and global energy prices. Higher global prices, as they are net importers of energy, represent a negative term-of-trade shock to most European countries. This can translate into lower output and greater inflation. IMF saidAt the moment.

Europe’s dependency on Russian energy is clearly an economic problem. The EU has already decided to stop imports of Russian coalThe EU is currently discussing the possibility of banning oil imports. Investors are focusing on natural gas because it is the main commodity the EU imports from Russia.

When asked if oil and natural gas sanctions on Russia could pose an economic risk for Europe, UBS CEO Ralph Hamers told CNBC Tuesday: “Of Russian oil not so much, of Russian gas that’s a different — a much bigger challenge and that is really because large part[s]Many industries depend upon gas for their basic commodity in order to manufacture their products. This could lead to the second order effect, especially in the European economy.