European natural gas prices increased on Monday as increased tanker attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and escalating regional tensions heightened concerns over the security of liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies.
The November contract at the Dutch TTF, the benchmark for European natural gas prices, settled at €81.43 per megawatt-hour on Friday.
Prices rose 1.3% from the previous close to €82.50 per megawatt-hour as of 9.45 a.m. local time (0645 GMT) on Monday.
The gains were driven by increased risks to LNG supplies amid rising tanker attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and escalating regional tensions. Before the war, the strait handled around 20% of global LNG trade.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said a tanker exiting the Strait of Hormuz had been struck by an unidentified projectile on its port side, sparking a fire on board.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also said a supertanker attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz had struck a sea mine, causing an explosion in the vessel’s engine room.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump’s announcement that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an energy ceasefire effective immediately eased some concerns over the region’s energy supplies.
Trump said the two countries had agreed not to attack each other’s energy facilities despite the ongoing war and urged both sides to abide by the agreement.
– Cold spells could increase vulnerability
According to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE), natural gas storage facilities across European Union countries are 73.6% full.
This is below the five-year average of 87% for the same period.
Although European gas inventories have risen steadily in recent weeks, forecasts of cooler autumn temperatures could bring forward the start of the heating season and increase gas consumption.
In its 2026-2027 Winter Supply Outlook published last week, the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas (ENTSOG) said Europe’s gas system was flexible enough to meet winter demand but warned that limited LNG supplies could cause storage levels to fall well below 30% by the end of winter.
The report warned that this could leave Europe more vulnerable to cold spells late in the winter and make it harder to refill storage facilities the following summer due to low inventories.