European natural gas futures were mixed on Thursday, amid the interim pact now signed by the US and Iran, alongside forecasts of a massive heatwave across the continent through the end of this month.
The Dutch TTF front-month contract was up 0.13% to 40.805 euros ($46.83) per megawatt hour, while UK NBP front-month declined 2.35% to 97.440 British pence ($1.30) per therm.
On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump signed a memorandum of understanding formally ending the conflict with Iran, according to a Reuters report citing White House sources.
The agreement aims to bring the nearly four-month-long war to a close and has triggered a rapid unwinding of the geopolitical risk premium.
Temperatures across Europe are set to increase further throughout the rest of June, with Portugal and Spain bracing for 45 degrees Celsius. Paris is set to see an extended stretch of temperatures 10 to 15 degrees above average, according to Severe Weather EU.
This was attributed to a massive new, high-pressure heat dome which has settled over the continent and which is expected to result in increased air conditioner usage and a resulting incresae in gas-fired power generation.
The Strait of Hormuz, which accounted for one-fifth of global LNG flows before the war, appeared still effectively shut for the 16th week running, with no vessels transiting over the past 24 hours, according to the Hormuz Strait Monitor.
According to Daniel Hynes, a senior commodity strategist at ANZ, concerns are now firmly centered around refilling Europe's gas stockpiles "ahead of the northern hemisphere winter."
European gas inventories are 45.29% full, compared to 54.07% during the corresponding period a year ago, according to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe.
Inventories were also significantly below the five-year average for this period, at 59.6%, according to data from the Swiss Federal Office of Energy.