Published On 6/5/2026
Natural gas prices in Europe are heading to achieve their first weekly gains in 3 weeks, with continued uncertainty about the chances of reaching a peace agreement between the United States and Iran, after the escalation of fighting in the Middle East and the continued effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz since the beginning of the conflict.
First-month Dutch gas futures, the European benchmark for gas prices, rose 0.09% to 48.91 euros ($57.10) per megawatt-hour at the time of writing, after they had declined in the previous session.
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Standard contracts have risen by about 7% since last Friday, heading to record their first weekly gains in 3 weeks, in light of weak indicators of progress in the talks aimed at ending the war and reopening the vital Strait of Hormuz.
Conduct of negotiations
US President Donald Trump said that the negotiations were going well, but a new wave of violence broke out in the region, and the Tehran-backed Hezbollah group rejected an American-brokered truce in Lebanon.
The European gas market’s concerns are focused on refilling the region’s huge storage facilities before the winter, as they are currently filled to just over 41%.
If the closure of the Strait of Hormuz continues, competition with Asia for seaborne LNG shipments may intensify this summer.
In the United States, natural gas contracts rose by 0.34% to $3.35 per million British thermal units at the time of writing these lines, after reaching a 4-month high yesterday, Thursday, with domestic gas inventories declining more than expected.
Expectations of hot weather in the coming weeks have contributed to rising prices, while any disruptions in US supplies may affect Europe, whose dependence on US gas has increased since Russian gas flows through pipelines stopped almost completely following the war in Ukraine.
