Dutch and British wholeale gas prices rose on Tuesday morning due to uncertainty over US-Iran talks and the impact on navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
The benchmark Dutch front-month contract at the TTF hub was up €0.92 at €43.53/per megawatt hour (MWh) or around $14.22/mmBtu, by 08:58 GMT, ICE data showed.
The British June contract was up 2.13p at 104.69p per therm.
"Range-bound trading is expected to persist today supported by broadly stable fundamentals on the prompt...However, some volatility risk remains tied to geopolitical developments, particularly around US–Iran talks," Wayne Bryan, head of European gas research at LSEG, said in a daily research note.
Iranian and US negotiating teams were due in Doha this week, but Iran said on Monday no meeting had been scheduled as weekend missile fire from both sides tested the interim ceasefire to end the four-month-old war.
"The focus today is expected to be on managing transit risks through the Strait of Hormuz and easing regional tensions, which could influence broader energy market sentiment," Bryan said.
Shipments through the Strait of Hormuz began rising last week but then declined following renewed attacks on ships from Thursday that triggered strikes from the US and Iran. The two countries have since agreed to renew talks over the strait.
Fundamentally, residential gas for heating demand forecast is flat across the prompt with no significant shift in consumption, LSEG data showed.
(Reporting by Marwa Rashad; Editing by Nina Chestney)
