-- European natural gas futures were down on Wednesday, after US President Donald Trump said he was lifting the blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, amid growing optimism for a potential second round of peace talks between the US and Iran.
The front-month Dutch TTF contract was down 1.99% to 42.50 euros ($50.11) per megawatt-hour, while UK NBP futures dropped 2.07% to 106.50 British pence ($1.43) per therm.
In a Truth Social post on Wednesday, Trump said he was "permanently" opening the Strait of Hormuz after China agreed not to sell weapons to Iran. He added that such a situation "will never happen again."
This comes following his earlier statement to Fox News on Tuesday, when he said the war in Iran was "very close to over," while adding that Tehran wants to make a deal "very badly."
Trump also said that it was "very possible" that a deal with Iran would be reached before King Charles is expected to visit the US later this month.
Earlier in the day, Trump told the New York Post that the second round of US-Iran peace talks "could be happening over [the] next two days" in Pakistan's capital city.
Meanwhile, the Strait of Hormuz continued to remain closed for the seventh week running, with just three vessels transiting through it over the past 24 hours, according to the Hormuz Strait Monitor.
The prolonged disruption in the Strait had resulted in Asian LNG buyers emerging as key competitors to Europe in bidding for alternative supplies in recent weeks. However, most Asian countries have seen their imports drop to the lowest levels since 2020, according to ANZ senior commodity strategist, Daniel Hynes.
Hynes also noted that Gail India and Indian Oil Corp haven't awarded any tenders for spot purchases of gas for April and May, while China's gas imports similarly fell in March.
These developments bode well for European markets as they step into the refilling season with significantly depleted inventories, at just 29.55% of capacity, compared to 35.62% during the corresponding period a year ago, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe.
Weather forecasts, too, have turned bearish, with most parts of Europe projected to experience above-normal temperatures during the Summer, according to Severe Weather EU.