-- European natural gas futures were up by nearly 4% on Thursday as uncertainties continued to linger over US-Iran relations, with stalled peace talks, a fragile open-ended ceasefire, and the ongoing naval blockade against Tehran kept markets on edge.
Front-month Dutch TTF contracts rose 3.96% to 45.27 euros ($52.98) per megawatt hour, while UK NBP futures gained 3.92% to 112.69 British pence ($1.51) per therm.
This comes as tensions have continued to escalate in the Middle East, with Iran's decision to seize two vessels in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, followed by US forces intercepting and redirecting three Iranian-flagged vessels in the Indian Ocean.
Meanwhile, the second round of peace negotiations with Iran, scheduled to take place in Islamabad, Pakistan, earlier this week, was abandoned, and US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire extension, with no concrete deadline.
The Strait of Hormuz, which accounted for 20% of global LNG flows, remained closed for the eighth week running, with just five vessels transiting through it over the past 24 hours, according to the Hormuz Strait Monitor.
These developments come at a time when Europe is entering gas reinjection season with significantly depleted inventories, at just 30.70% of capacity, compared with 37.32% during the corresponding period a year ago.
At the same time, Norwegian output, a key supply source for Europe, stood at 12.34 billion cubic feet per day in March, down 1.6% since February and 0.8% year-over-year, while also being 0.5% below forecasts, according to data from the Norwegian Offshore Directorate, further aggravating the supply situation.