Trump says Iran war "close to over" amid hopes for more negotiations
Investing.com - U.S. natural gas prices were mixed on Wednesday, as traders tracked developments around U.S.-Iran peace negotiations.
By 12:42 ET (16:42 GMT), the Natual Gas Futures - May 26 (NGK6) fell 0.23% at $2.596/mmbtu.
U.S. Natural Gas has been getting battered as crude oil has remained under $100, and the effective double blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has dented gas supplies.
"While the peace talks and the Iran conflict has made US Nat Gas prices more volatile at the beginning of the conflict, the reality of prices now being subdued is that domestic US Nat Gas is mostly immune from Middle East conflicts in that its produced and consumed in the US. However, the longer-term ramification for US LNG exports is more of a positive to US prices. In that Qatar is the US major competitor for Asian LNG exports," said Dennis Kissler, senior vice president at BOK Financial.
"The unrest in the Middle East will likely have Asian buyers sourcing US LNG longer term agreements, if even at a slightly higher price. The reason is reliability of US LNG deliveries will keep US exports in the spotlight as the most reliable outlet. Even if a peace deal is reached, Iran has shown they can interrupt shipping in the area, and the US can guarantee delivery on every load. This should be a longer-term price positive for US Nat Gas prices," he added.
U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested that the U.S. war with Iran may be coming to a conclusion soon. Speaking to Sky News in the U.K., Trump said it was "very possible" that a permanent ceasefire agreement with Iran could be reached prior to the visit of King Charles later this month. He added that Iran has been "beaten up pretty bad."
Earlier, Trump told Maria Bartiromo of Fox News that the conflict, which began with joint U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February, is "close to over."
The New York Post also reported that Trump expects temporary U.S.-Iran ceasefire talks to resume in the next two days, following a first round talks in Pakistan last weekend.
Citing regional officials, the Associated Press also reported that mediators’ efforts to extend the ceasefire have made progress and both sides are now anticipated to return to the negotiating table. The news agency said mediators were working on a compromise to three of the main sticking points in the talks, such as Iran’s nuclear program, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and compensation for the war.
Still, the U.S. military has said it is now fully enforcing a naval blockade against Iran as part of likely bid to pressure Tehran into a peace deal, leaving the outlook for gas flows in the Middle East uncertain.
Scott Kanowsky contributed to this article