European natural gas futures fell below €60 per MWh on Friday, pulling back from a more than three-year high after the United States signaled possible steps to rein in surging energy costs. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested Washington may soon lift sanctions on Iranian oil currently stranded on tankers and also hinted at further releases from US crude reserves, moves that could offer short-term relief to global energy markets.
At the same time, President Trump ruled out deploying troops, while Israel pledged to refrain from additional strikes on a key Iranian gas field. These developments came in the wake of Iran’s retaliatory attack on Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City—home to the world’s largest LNG export terminal—following Israel’s strike on Iran’s South Pars gas field.
In parallel, major European countries and Japan offered to join efforts to secure safe passage for vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, which remains effectively closed. Despite the recent pullback, European gas prices are still nearly twice their pre-war levels and have surged more than 90% so far this month.
