European natural gas futures gave back earlier gains in late trading on Tuesday but still closed higher, as markets reacted to escalating geopolitical rhetoric alongside ongoing supply constraints in Europe.
The front-month Dutch TTF contract rose 0.696% to 46.555 euros ($54.63) per megawatt-hour, while the UK NBP front-month rose 1.058% to 114.63 British pence ($1.55) per therm.
Sentiment was underpinned by continued Middle East risk after Iranian parliamentary national security and foreign policy commission spokesperson Ebrahim Rezaei said Tehran could consider doubling down on enriching uranium if attacked again. "One of Iran's options in the event of another attack could be 90 percent enrichment," Rezaei said in a social media post, adding the issue would be reviewed in parliament, news outlets reported.
News reports also indicated that at least one additional LNG carrier had moved through the embattled Strait of Hormuz over the weekend. Bloomberg said a second Qatari LNG tanker had exited the strait, with the vessel Mihzem later tracked in the Gulf of Oman en route to Pakistan and appearing fully laden.
Meanwhile, European supply fundamentals remained tight. Norway's Hammerfest LNG terminal, one of the region's key export facilities, is still offline due to a mechanical valve fault that halted production last week. The plant, which has a capacity of roughly 18.4 million cubic meters per day, is scheduled to restart at 1800 GMT on Wednesday, Reuters reported.
Weather models added a mixed signal for demand. Atmospheric G2 flagged the possibility of a cooler, windier pattern moving in from the northeast around May 25, which could lift heating demand later in the month.
On storage, Gas Infrastructure Europe data showed EU gas inventories at 35.36% of capacity, sharply below 42.82% at the same point last year, underscoring some of the region's challenges heading into the refill season.