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EMEA Natural Gas Update: Futures Rally After Fresh US-Iran Peace Deal Criticism

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European natural gas futures rose on Thursday amid fresh criticism over US-Iran peace deal, and lack of clarity on peace deal to end hostilities in the region.

The front-month Dutch TTF contract was up by 2.72% to 47.675 euros ($55.35) per megawatt hour, while the UK NBP front-month contract rose 3.06% to 116.500 British pence ($1.56) per therm.

Both the US and Iran were involved in fresh clashes on Wednesday, with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targeting a US airbase in retaliation against American attacks near the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, according to Iran's Tasnim News Agency.

Meanwhile, during a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump signaled that he was in no hurry to make a deal with Iran.

"We can make a good deal right now, but maybe not a great deal, and if it's not a great deal, we're not making it," he said, while once again noting that Iran would not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.

The strategically crucial Strait of Hormuz remained effectively shut for the 13th week running, with just six vessels transiting over the past 24 hours, according to the Hormuz Strait Monitor.

This comes at a time when European natural gas inventories remain depleted, at just 38.83% of capacity, compared to 46.60%, 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 52.8%, according to the Swiss Federal Office of Energy.

All of this comes during a "a historic, record-shattering heatwave" across Europe, with temperatures rising 12 to 16 degrees Celsius above long-term climatological norms, according to Severe-Weather EU, leading to increased air-conditioning power demand and more natural gas burn.

Meanwhile, Daniel Hynes, a senior commodity strategist at ANZ, warned that seaborne shipments to Europe were "running below seasonal norms," amid rising competition from Asian buyers in the spot markets. This stands to further complicate the supply situation for the region.

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