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EMEA Natural Gas Update: Futures Edge Higher as US Reaffirms Fresh Economic Sanctions Against Iran

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European natural gas futures edged higher on Friday after the US doubled down on fresh economic sanctions against Iran, amid the lack of progress in talks between the two sides.

Front-month Dutch TTF futures rose 1.57% to 66.320 euros ($77.62) per megawatt-hour, while UK NBP futures gained 1.67% to 163.920 British pence ($2.24) per therm.

On Thursday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reaffirmed Washington's economic campaign against Tehran, describing it as the "greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world" during an interview with CNBC.

Meanwhile, Iran has dismissed US threats, with the country's Foreign Minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, calling US President Donald Trump's "economic D-Day" a diversion from America's own internal crises. "Doubling down on failed policies will only bring further defeat," he said on Thursday, in a post on X.

Traffic along the strategically crucial Strait of Hormuz, which accounted for one-fifth of global LNG flows, stood at 18 total transits on Thursday, according to ShipFinder.

Daniel Hynes, senior commodity strategist at ANZ, noted that European gas prices surged to a five-month high as prolonged disruptions to Middle East flows hampered the region's ability to refill storage inventories, which remain well below historical averages.

European gas inventories stood at 61.82% of capacity, compared to 74.53% during the corresponding period a year ago, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe.

Inventories were also significantly below the five-year average for this period, at 79.0%, according to the Swiss Federal Office of Energy.

However, the European Commission played down concerns over low inventories ahead of winter, with spokesperson Eva Hrncirova saying there was "no immediate concern for the security of gas supply," while noting that the bloc was targeting storage levels of 80% of capacity rather than 100%, as reported by.

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EMEA Natural Gas Update: Futures Edge Higher as US Reaffirms Fresh Economic Sanctions Against Iran | FINWIRES