European natural gas prices tick higher as investors eye fresh Mideast tensions in General Energy News 21/04/2026 European natural gas prices rose on Monday, reversing some losses notched at the end of last week, as investors gauged uncertainty around the trajectory of potential talks between the U.S. and Iran to extend a temporary ceasefire. By 08:41 ET (12:41 GMT), the benchmark Dutch front-month contract at the TTF hub had slumped by 3.7% to 40.17 euros per megawatt hour (MWh), according to data from the Intercontinental Exchange. Uncertainty surrounded the longevity of a temporary ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran on Monday, following a U.S. seizure of an Iranian-flagged vessel that has led to a threat of retaliation from Tehran. A two-week halt to hostilities is set to expire later this week, with U.S. President Donald Trump saying that envoys from Washington will be arriving for a new round of peace talks with Iran in Pakistan. However, Iran has rejected participation in a second round of talks with the U.S., citing what it described as Washington’s “excessive demands” and shifting positions, state news agency IRNA reported. Tehran said its decision was driven by “unrealistic expectations,” “constant shifts in stance,” and “repeated contradictions” from the U.S., as well as an ongoing naval blockade, which it considers a violation of the ceasefire. Axios also reported that Iran suspects the U.S. is preparing a surprise attack. The developments marked a reversal from optimism around the trajectory of the war late last week, which had been fueled by claims from Trump and Iran’s foreign minister that the Strait of Hormuz — a vital chokepoint for a fifth of the world’s oil — had been reopened to tanker traffic. However, Iran has declared that the Strait of Hormuz is once again closed. Benchmark EU natural gas prices remain well above pre-war levels. Along with the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, gas supplies to Europe have been dented by attacks on key energy infrastructure, especially production facilities in Qatar. Global gas prices have surged as a result. Still, Monday’s gains were relatively muted, as subdued demand from Asia has helped to relieve some pressure on European gas inventories. Source: Investing.com 2026-04-21 hellenicshippingnews... window.___gcfg = {lang: 'en-US'}; (function(w, d, s) { function go(){ var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], load = function(url, id) { if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement(s); js.src = url; js.id = id; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }; load('//connect.facebook.net/en/all.js#xfbml=1', 'fbjssdk'); load('https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js', 'gplus1js'); load('//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js', 'tweetjs'); } if (w.addEventListener) { w.addEventListener("load", go, false); } else if (w.attachEvent) { w.attachEvent("onload",go); } }(window, document, 'script')); tweet Share