European natural gas prices climb with Iran peace talks in question in General Energy News 21/04/2026 European natural gas prices rose on Tuesday, as investors gauged murkiness around the trajectory of potential talks between the U.S. and Iran to extend a temporary ceasefire. By 09:23 ET (13:23 GMT), the benchmark Dutch front-month contract at the TTF hub had jumped by 3.5% to 41.65 euros per megawatt hour (MWh), according to data from the Intercontinental Exchange. Benchmark EU natural gas prices remain well above pre-war levels. Along with the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, gas supplies to Europe have been dented by attacks on key energy infrastructure, especially production facilities in Qatar. Global gas prices have surged as a result. Uncertainty surrounded fresh peace talks between the U.S. and Iran on Tuesday ahead of the fast-approaching expiration of a temporary ceasefire deal, with President Donald Trump accusing Tehran of violating the halt to hostilities but suggesting that an agreement could still be reached. The two-week pause to the fighting is set to run out later this week, although the exact timing of the deadline remained unspecified. Citing a Pakistani source, Reuters reported that the truce would end at 8 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, or midnight GMT on Thursday. Trump, who first announced the ceasefire on April 7 at 6:32 p.m. ET (22:32 GMT), said in a social media post on Tuesday that Iran had broken the truce “numerous times,” but did not elaborate further or provide more details. Yet he later told CNBC that he expects the U.S. to make a “great deal” with Iran, adding that the U.S. is in a “very strong negotiating position.” With the clock ticking down, Pakistan, which has served as a frequent mediator between Washington and Tehran, has been moving to clear the path for renewed talks to resolve a conflict which began with joint U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February. The Associated Press, citing two regional officials, reported that the U.S. and Iran have signaled that they will be attending renewed negotiations in Islamabad. The U.S. has expressed confidence that the discussions in Pakistan will go ahead and a Pakistani source has claimed that Tehran will be joining, according to Reuters. But Trump has seemingly poured cold water on the potential for an extension to the ceasefire, telling CNBC that he does not want to renew the truce. Trump has been insisting that he wants an agreement that will stem ructions in financial markets, along with a promise from Iran not to pursue development of a nuclear weapon. Source: Investing.com 2026-04-21 hellenicshippingnews... window.___gcfg = {lang: 'en-US'}; (function(w, d, s) { function go(){ var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], load = function(url, id) { if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement(s); js.src = url; js.id = id; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }; load('//connect.facebook.net/en/all.js#xfbml=1', 'fbjssdk'); load('https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js', 'gplus1js'); load('//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js', 'tweetjs'); } if (w.addEventListener) { w.addEventListener("load", go, false); } else if (w.attachEvent) { w.attachEvent("onload",go); } }(window, document, 'script')); tweet Share