BREAKINGVIEWS-Iran chaos is issue for gas as much as oil market

Reuters03-02 18:46
BREAKINGVIEWS-Iran chaos is issue for gas as much as oil market

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

By Yawen Chen

LONDON, March 2 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The black stuff is trading at $80 per barrel, suggesting traders think disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz won’t last long. That may in itself prove optimistic. But a bigger jump in European gas prices is a reminder that the impact on global fossil fuel users goes beyond crude.

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CONTEXT NEWS

The United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28, which President Donald Trump said would end a security threat to the United States and give Iranians a chance to topple their rulers.

Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei died during the strikes on February 28.

Amid the conflict, OPEC+ agreed on March 1 to an oil output boost of 206,000 barrels per day for April.

More than 200 vessels including oil and liquefied gas tankers have dropped anchor outside the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported citing shipping data on March 1. Three tankers were damaged and one seafarer was killed in attacks on March 1 in Gulf waters.

Brent crude futures rose to as much as $82.37 a barrel after market open on March 1, the highest since January 2025, before retreating to be up $5.41, or 7.4%, to $78.28 by 0605 GMT on March 2.

European natural gas futures trading at the Title Transfer Facility (TTF) hub rose by more than 20% to approximately 39 euros per MWh on March 2.

(Editing by George Hay; Production by Shrabani Chakraborty)

((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can click on CHEN/yawen.chen@thomsonreuters.com))

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