European natural gas prices climbed back above €56 per MWh on Monday, recovering part of the previous week’s losses amid ongoing uncertainty over when shipping through the Strait of Hormuz will return to normal. Over the weekend, Iran and Oman failed to finalize an agreement after Tehran reiterated an extensive set of conditions for Washington as the price of fully reopening the strategic waterway, suggesting that any near-term relief for gas supplies will likely be limited.
While Iranian officials signaled that a deal was within reach, they stressed that this did not imply an imminent reopening of the strait and continued to rule out direct talks with the United States. With no agreement yet in place, disruptions to LNG flows through the chokepoint are expected to persist, delaying shipments from key exporters such as Qatar. These prolonged delays are keeping global gas markets tight, heightening competition with Asian buyers for spot cargoes and complicating Europe’s efforts to build winter inventories.
