Gas tap ©Adobe Stock Images
European and British wholesale natural gas prices declined for a second consecutive session on Thursday, following a multi-day increase that had taken benchmark contracts above levels reached earlier during the Middle East conflict.
The benchmark Dutch front-month contract fell 1.7% to €72.23 per megawatt-hour (MWh), moving lower from the multi-year high of €74.32 reached earlier in the week.
In Britain, the equivalent NBP wholesale gas contract declined 2.7% to 178.08 pence per therm. The contract had moved above 183 pence in the previous session, reaching its highest level since late 2023.
Trading desks attributed Thursday’s decline to profit-taking following the recent increase in prices.
Strait of Hormuz Disruption Remains a Supply Factor
Geopolitical developments continued to affect the European natural gas market as military engagements between U.S. forces and Iran disrupted commercial navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
A second round of U.S. air strikes targeted Iranian military sites in the Persian Gulf, while Iran carried out retaliatory missile strikes against U.S. facilities in Jordan. Commercial tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained at a fraction of pre-war levels, according to the satellite vessel-tracking data cited in the source material.
The Strait of Hormuz handles approximately one-fifth of global seaborne liquefied natural gas shipments, with Qatar accounting for a significant portion of those volumes.
Disruption to the route has increased competition between European energy importers and Asian utilities for alternative spot LNG cargoes from the Atlantic basin.