-- European natural gas futures were up on Thursday after US President Donald Trump rejected Iran's proposal to open the Strait of Hormuz.
The front-month Dutch TTF contract climbed 0.80% to 47.24 euros ($55.21) per megawatt hour, while the UK NBP advanced 0.68% to 116.53 British pence ($1.57) per therm.
On Wednesday, Trump reportedly told Axios that he was rejecting Iran's proposal earlier this week to open the Strait, which involved delaying nuclear negotiations between the two countries. Trump also said that the Naval blockade against Tehran would continue until the regime agrees to a deal that addresses all US concerns regarding its nuclear program.
Meanwhile, the US Central Command is reportedly preparing a "short and powerful" wave of strikes against Iran, aimed at breaking the current deadlock, Axios said, citing sources with knowledge of the matter.
This marks a major escalation in the conflict, despite there being hopes of ending hostilities in the region over the past few weeks.
The strategically crucial Strait of Hormuz remains closed for the ninth week running, with just 13 vessels transiting over the past 24 hours, according to the Hormuz Strait Monitor.
Shell (SHEL) CEO, Wael Sawan, warned on Wednesday that the oil and LNG shortages caused by the conflict could last for months, and possibly even into the next year, in an interview with Bloomberg.
Daniel Hynes, a senior commodity strategist at ANZ, noted that this would be problematic for Europe, "as it refills empty storage ahead of the next heating season."
Europe has begun reinjections at significantly depleted inventory levels, at just 32.23% of capacity, compared to 38.96% during the corresponding period a year ago, according to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe.