European natural gas futures climbed in after-hours trading on Wednesday following renewed geopolitical disruption in the Middle East after Iran seized vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, escalating tensions around a critical global energy chokepoint.
Front-month Dutch TTF contracts rose 5.769% to 44.35 euros ($51.94) per megawatt hour, while UK NBP futures gained 4.642% to 110.00 British pence ($1.49) per therm.
Prices were supported by heightened supply concerns as the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively constrained after more than seven weeks of disruption, removing an estimated 20% of global LNG flows from regular transit routes. Market sentiment was further pressured by continued instability, including reports that Iranian forces attacked three vessels in the Strait early Wednesday, with Iran's Revolutionary Guard confirming the seizure of two ships.
Late Tuesday, US President Donald Trump announced an extension of the ceasefire framework with Iran, stating Washington would delay further military action to allow Tehran additional time to present a conflict resolution proposal. However, diplomats report little tangible progress in setting up negotiations.
On the supply side, European storage levels stood at 30.61% of capacity on Wednesday, more than seven percentage points below year-ago levels, as the region enters the restocking season with structurally tighter inventories.
Norwegian output, Europe's primary gas supply source, added further pressure. March production fell to 12.34 billion cubic feet per day, down 1.6% from February and 0.8% year-on-year, according to preliminary data from the Norwegian Offshore Directorate. Output came in 0.5% below forecast. It marked the second consecutive monthly decline on both a sequential and annual basis.
Norway's total gas sales in March 2026 were 10.8 billion cubic meters, down 0.9 Bcm from the previous month.