European natural gas prices jump amid ongoing Hormuz uncertainty in General Energy News 05/05/2026 European gas prices surged on Monday, as investors kept tabs on a fresh U.S. effort to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and stalled talks between Washington and Tehran. By 06:11 ET (10:11 GMT), the benchmark Dutch front-month contract at the TTF hub had risen by 3.6% to 47.47 euros per megawatt hour. Over the weekend, U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled what he called “Project Freedom,” a push to help reopen stalled shipping traffic through the strait, a vital conduit for a fifth of the world’s oil. Trump provided few details around the plan. “The market does not seem convinced by the plan,” analysts at ING said in a note. “Reports indicate that, for now, the plan won’t involve the U.S. Navy escorting vessels. Even if this allows vessels to leave the Persian Gulf, we’re likely to see little inbound traffic. This would only amount to temporary relief, as floating storage leaves the Persian Gulf.” On Monday, the Associated Press reported that the U.S.-led Joint Maritime Information Center had set up an “enhanced security area” south of traditional shipping routes. But Iran’s military warned U.S. forces not to enter the strait, claiming that it stands ready to “respond harshly” to any threat. Any commercial vessels should also not make any movements would approval from Tehran’s armed forces, it added. Source: Investing.com 2026-05-05 hellenicshippingnews... tweet Share