European natural gas prices rise as Middle East diplomacy efforts appear to falter

By 09:23 ET (13:23 GMT), the benchmark Dutch front-month contract at the TTF hub had climbed by 3.6% to 45.710 euros per megawatt hour, according to data from the Intercontinental Exchange.

A spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry has played down Trump’s perceived rebuff of Tehran’s response, according to the Wall Street Journal. The spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, described iran as not “concerned with the satisfaction of others,” the WSJ reported. Baghaei added that Iran would do what is necessary to achieve its “national interests and legitimate rights,” including through fighting or diplomacy “with goodwill and in a reasonable manner.”

According to Iranian state TV, Tehran issued a response to a U.S. plan to end their more than two-month old conflict, focusing on concluding the fighting on all fronts and demanding compensation for war damage.  Iran also stressed that it controlled the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane off the country’s southern coast through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas flows. The strait has been all but shuttered during the conflict, and is now blockaded by both the U.S. and Iran.

Speaking to Iranian state broadcaster IRIB, Baghaei said Tehran was open to to putting off decisions on its nuclear program until “the time is right” in order to secure an “urgent” end to the war.  Writing on social media within hours after Iran appeared to make its counteroffer, President Trump said: “I don’t like it — TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE.” No further details were provided.

The U.S. has proposed bringing the war to a swift end, followed by more detailed negotiations on key issues, especially Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Along with issues in the Strait of Hormuz, European natural gas prices have been impacted by recent attacks on a major production facility in Qatar. Many European countries use natural gas exported from this site.      Qatar has only just shipped its first cargo of liquefied natural-gas through the Strait of Hormuz since the outset of the war, with the vessel bound for Pakistan, while talks are ongoing around allowing other LNG cargoes to transit the waterway. A second Qatari LNG vessel has also traversed the strait, Reuters reported.

Elsewhere, Trump is due to travel to China this week for a much-awaited meeting with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. Crucially, Beijing is a major importer of Iranian energy.

“While optimism for an imminent deal is fading, there remains a glimmer of hope that talks between Trump and Chinese President Xi later this week could yield positive results on Iran,” analysts at ING said.  “The hope is that China can use its influence over Iran to push it closer towards a peace deal. Clearly, this is easier said than done.”