European gas prices rise on Qatar blast, Hormuz tensions

European Natural Gas Prices Rise on Strait of Hormuz Uncertainty and Qatar Blast

European benchmark natural gas prices climbed on Monday as traders grappled with conflicting signals over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and digested news of a deadly explosion at Qatar’s largest LNG complex.

Dutch TTF front-month futures traded between 42.42 and 42.70 euros per megawatt-hour on Monday, up from Friday’s close of 42.10 euros, according to historical pricing data from Investing.com. The move higher came after TTF had fallen roughly 13 percent from early June levels following a U.S.-Iran framework agreement on June 17.nytimes

Hormuz Confusion Weighs on Markets

Conflicting claims over the status of the Strait of Hormuz — through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and LNG passes — kept energy traders on edge. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps declared the waterway closed on Saturday, citing Israeli military actions in Lebanon and accusing the United States of failing to uphold its obligations under the recent memorandum of understanding, according to Al Jazeera. U.S. Central Command countered that safe passage remained “intact,” reporting 55 merchant vessels transited the strait on Saturday.aljazeera

By Monday, maritime tracking firms reported traffic flowing at an accelerated rate compared to pre-agreement levels, according to Barron’s, even as vessel tracking data from Windward showed Sunday’s transits had fallen sharply to just 12 ships. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to visit the UAE, Kuwait, and Bahrain from June 23 to 25 to discuss the strait’s status and the Iran MoU, the State Department said Monday.aljazeera

Qatar Blast Raises LNG Supply Concerns

An explosion tore through Qatar’s Ras Laffan LNG complex on Sunday night during restart operations at the Barzan local gas supply facility, killing 13 workers and injuring 66, Reuters reported. QatarEnergy confirmed on social media that the blast occurred “during the initiation of operations” as the country worked to resume production halted after an Iranian attack in March.claimsjournal

Qatar’s Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi told reporters Monday that the incident was “an accident and not a sabotage or hostile in nature,” noting the plant had been fully stopped since December 2025 for maintenance and had restarted only two days prior.claimsjournal

Heatwave Adds to Demand Pressures

A prolonged heatwave across southern and western Europe provided additional support for gas prices. Temperatures approached 40 degrees Celsius across Spain, France, and Italy over the weekend, with Spain’s AEMET weather agency forecasting the heat would persist until midweek, Reuters reported. The extreme temperatures, which have already shattered records since late May, are raising short-term power and cooling demand across the continent.wikipedia