European natural gas held near multi-year peaks on Sept. 10, driven by escalating tensions in the Persian Gulf that threaten a critical transit chokepoint and a European energy storage deficit that leaves the region vulnerable to supply shocks.
The Dutch front-month contract rose 0.5% to 79.64 euros per megawatt-hour, hovering close to its highest level since 2023, which was touched on Wednesday. In the UK, the NBP wholesale contract gained 0.6% to 198.00 pence per therm, approaching the psychologically significant 200p threshold and holding near its highest point since late 2022.
Crude oil also held firm above $100 a barrel, adding to the commodity-wide risk premium attached to the unfolding regional conflict.
Iranian-backed Houthis launched coordinated strikes on several Saudi Arabian cities, while the United States carried out direct strikes on multiple Iranian oil tankers. Iran responded with a retaliatory missile attack on a U.S. military base in Jordan. The fighting has raised fresh concerns about maritime transit through the Strait of Hormuz, which handles roughly 20% of global liquefied natural gas traffic — chiefly originating from Qatar.
European gas stores remain under pressure ahead of the winter heating season. Underground facilities were filled to approximately 62% of capacity, trailing the five-year seasonal average by roughly 17 percentage points, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe data.
Separately, money markets were nearly fully pricing in a 25-basis-point interest rate increase by the European Central Bank, which would lift the benchmark deposit facility rate to 2.50%. The ECB governing council, led by President Christine Lagarde, was set to announce its decision later in the day on Sept. 10.
