European Gas Prices Cool as Traders Lock in Profits Amid Ongoing Geopolitical Tensions

Natural gas prices in Europe have cooled off slightly after surging to multi-year highs. The European wholesale price fell 1.7% to 72.23 euros per megawatt-hour (MWh), while the British NBP contract dropped 2.7% to 178.08 pence per therm.

Trading desks say this price action is a technical correction rather than a fundamental shift in market sentiment, with traders locking in profits after prices broke past historical resistance levels set during the Middle East conflict.

The Strait of Hormuz blockade continues to pose a significant risk to global liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, with commercial tanker traffic through the bottleneck remaining at a small fraction of normal pre-war levels. This has led to intense competition between European and Asian energy importers for replacement spot LNG cargoes from the Atlantic basin.