The near halt of commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz — a route of strategic importance for global energy supply — and the suspension of production at a Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility have caused gas prices in Europe to rise sharply, APA-Economics reports.
According to the information, on February 27 — before the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran — the price of April futures at Europe’s main gas trading hub, TTF, stood at 31.95 euros per megawatt-hour. Over the past week, amid the war in the Middle East, prices increased by 67% to 53.4 euros. Today at 11:00 a.m. Baku time, they climbed further to 68.5 euros.
Thus, prices rose by 28.5% compared to last Friday’s closing level at the opening of the exchange.
At the same time, the level of gas storage in Europe falling below 30% is also creating additional upward pressure on prices.
It should be noted that about 20% of the world’s LNG exports pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Approximately 93% of liquefied gas exported by Qatar — one of the world’s largest LNG exporters — reaches international markets via this route.
According to reports, after attacks by Iran on commercial vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz, particularly those linked to the United States and Israel, only one ship had passed through the strait by March 7, while oil or LNG shipments had effectively not been carried out.
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