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EMEA Natural Gas Update: Futures Rise Roughly 3% After Trump's Latest Threat to Iran

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European natural gas futures were up on Friday amid mounting fears of prolonged supply disruptions following US President Donald Trump's latest threats against Iran.

The front-month Dutch TTF contract gained 2.61% to 48.90 euros ($56.88) per megawatt hour, while the UK NBP front-month rose 3.06% to 120.35 British pence ($1.61) per therm.

On Thursday, Trump said he would not be "much more patient" with Iran, while speaking with Fox News' Sean Hannity. He also warned that Tehran "should make a deal" as negotiations remain stalled over key nuclear issues, including the fate of the country's stockpile of enriched uranium.

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi has said that the US should abandon its maximalist demands to proceed with the deal during a meeting with Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow during the BRICS meet in New Delhi on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz, which accounted for one-fifth of global LNG flows, witnessed an uptick in traffic, with 30 vessels transiting over the past 24 hours, according to the Hormuz Strait Monitor. This, however, is still significantly below the typical daily average of 138 vessels before the conflict began.

According to Daniel Hynes, a senior commodity strategist at ANZ, there are still little to no signs of supply disruptions easing.

At the same time, he warned that the "pockets of demand for LNG" across South Asia, could intensify competition with European markets, for a limited pool of global supplies.

This also comes at a time when Europe is knee deep into its refilling season with significantly depleted gas inventories, at 35.85% of capacity, compared to 43.36% last year, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe. Inventories were also below the five-year average of 48.8% during this period, according to the Swiss Federal Office of Energy.

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