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EMEA Natural Gas Update: Futures Surge Amid Uncertainty in US-Iran Diplomatic Efforts

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European natural gas futures rose on Tuesday as uncertainty over the latest US-Iran diplomatic efforts kept the markets on edge, with conflicting signals emerging from both sides.

The front-month Dutch TTF contract was up 4.11% to 59.870 euros ($68.90) per megawatt-hour, while the front-month UK NBP contract was up 4.09% to 146.790 British pence ($1.97) per therm.

On Monday, US President Donald Trump said that talks with Iran were underway, while warning that this was Tehran's "last chance" to sign a good deal. "If I'm given the chance to let a lot of people live, I want to give them that chance," he said, while speaking to reporters from the White House Oval Office.

Meanwhile, Tehran has denied holding any talks with Washington, with the country's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, saying that the country was only involved in negotiations with Oman regarding the safe passage of commercial vessels along the Strait of Hormuz, as reported by.

Traffic along the strategically crucial Strait, which accounted for one-fifth of global LNG flows, held steady with 19 transits on Monday, according to ShipFinder.

However, analysts such as David Hynes, a senior commodity strategist at ANZ, noted that markets continued to remain on edge following the attack on an LNG tanker over the weekend, while it was attempting to transit the Strait.

This comes at a time when Europe struggles with low gas inventory levels, at 57.43%, compared to 69.24% 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 73.5%, according to the Swiss Federal Office of Energy.

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