European natural gas prices moved lower on Tuesday after a report suggested the United States may soon scale back its military involvement in Iran.
The Dutch TTF front-month contract, Europe’s benchmark for natural gas, was down 2.3% at €53.73 per megawatt hour.
According to the Wall Street Journal, U.S. President Donald Trump told advisers he is considering ending the war in Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz has not been fully reopened. Administration officials cited by the newspaper said Trump and his team concluded that a full military operation to reopen the waterway could extend the conflict well beyond the president’s preferred four-to-six-week timeframe.
Instead, the report said Trump has opted to wind down active hostilities after achieving key objectives, including weakening Iran’s naval capabilities and reducing its missile inventory.
Following a military drawdown, Washington is expected to apply diplomatic pressure on Tehran to reopen the strait. If those efforts fail, the U.S. could encourage European and Gulf allies to take the lead in restoring maritime traffic through the channel, the newspaper reported.
The Strait of Hormuz has become a central flashpoint in the U.S.–Israel conflict with Iran. Tehran has effectively restricted passage through the waterway using naval mines and missile strikes. Approximately 20% of global oil shipments normally transit the narrow route along Iran’s southern coast.
Last week, Trump reportedly set an April 6 deadline for Iran to allow shipping to resume through the strait or risk U.S. strikes targeting major energy and water infrastructure. Iran has largely rejected those demands and has attacked several tankers attempting to pass through Hormuz in recent weeks.
The disruption has pushed global energy prices sharply higher over the past month, raising concerns about inflation and increasing pressure on industries dependent on fuel and transport costs.
Europe has been particularly sensitive to the situation after turning to liquefied natural gas imports from the Persian Gulf following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Over the past month, Dutch TTF gas futures have surged more than 68%.
Data released Tuesday by Eurostat showed that inflation in the eurozone accelerated to 2.5% in March, slightly below economists’ forecasts but still above the European Central Bank’s 2% medium-term target. The increase was largely driven by higher energy costs.
In February—before the escalation of the current U.S.–Israeli military campaign against Iran—consumer prices in the eurozone had risen by 1.9%.
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