Oil & Energy
EMEA Natural Gas Update: Futures Down After Iran Shares New Peace Proposal With the US
European natural gas futures fell on Monday, after Iran reportedly shared a new proposal with the US to bring an end to their diplomatic stalemate.Front-month Dutch TTF gas contracts were down 1.16% to 44.34 euros ($52.11) per megawatt hour, while the UK NBP benchmark was down 0.95% to 109.53 pence ($1.48) per therm.Under its latest proposal, Tehran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end hostilities in the Middle East. Negotiations over the country's nuclear progam would be postponed to a later date, according to a report by Axios, citing a US official and other sources familiar with the matter.The proposal was shared by Iran's Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi during his visit to Pakistan over the weekend, which was later given to the US. So far, it remains unclear if US President Donald Trump is willing to explore this proposal.Meanwhile, the Strait of Hormuz, which accounts for one-fifth of global LNG flows, remained effectively closed for the ninth week running, according to the Hormuz Strait Monitor. There was, however, an uptick in traffic, with 19 vessels transiting through the Strait over the past 24 hours.Senior commodity strategist at ANZ, Daniel Hynes, said an increasing number of buyers are now turning to the spot market to "shore up domestic supplies," as the closure of the Hormuz Strait carries on.Hynes also noted that the supply situation could worsen due to potential strike action at the Ichthys LNG facility in Australia.On Friday, the International Energy Agency warned that damage to Qatari infrastructure could delay expansion in LNG production by at least two years, leading to a cumulative loss of 120 billion cubic meters of potential supply between 2026 and 2030.This comes at a time when European inventories remain depleted, at just 31.47% of capacity, compared to 38.14% during the corresponding period a year ago, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe.