European Gas Market Rebound
The front‑month Dutch TTF gas contract, the Eurozone benchmark, rose 3.4% to €41.9 per megawatt‑hour on Friday, while the British NBP equivalent gained 3.8% to 100.38 pence per therm. This price action snapped a six‑day losing streak and attempted to claw back ground from the near‑two‑month lows that had been touched on Thursday.
The reversal was triggered by news that U.S. Vice President JD Vance backed out of a planned trip to Switzerland, where he was scheduled to begin implementation talks on the 14‑point Washington‑Tehran peace accord. The diplomatic breakdown, combined with intensified Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon, injected fresh volatility into energy markets and forced investors to pull back from risk assets.
Prior to Friday’s bounce, European natural‑gas prices were on track for their worst weekly performance since mid‑April as traders aggressively unwound the war‑risk premium. Despite the rebound, prices remain well below pre‑war baselines, reflecting deep skepticism over a deal that former President Donald Trump has explicitly threatened to shred at the first sign of Iranian non‑compliance.