The International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts global natural gas demand will fall 0.5 per cent in 2026 as Middle East conflict-driven supply disruptions, higher prices and reduced LNG flows through the Strait of Hormuz weigh on consumption.
Oil prices climbed nearly 2% on Wednesday as renewed US airstrikes on Iran and fresh sanctions on Tehran's oil exports reignited concerns over supplies from the Middle East after attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
The United States launched a fresh wave of military strikes across Iran overnight, targeting more than 80 sites after Tehran resumed attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, further destabilising a fragile ceasefire agreed less than three weeks ago.
Attacks on commercial shipping resumed in the Strait of Hormuz, with two vessels struck in separate incidents that have heightened fears over the security of the shipping lane and threatened to derail recent diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions.
Shipping between Iran’s Dayyer port and Qatar’s Al Ruwais port has resumed following coordination between the Iranian embassy in Doha and Qatari authorities, a Reuters report said quoting Iran’s commercial attaché in Doha.
Iran and the US concluded a round of indirect talks on Wednesday with no sign they had made headway toward a lasting peace, focusing instead on issues that they said had been resolved when an interim deal was announced two weeks ago. Sources said negotiators spent two days in Doha discussing maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
The US and Iran held indirect technical talks in Doha on Wednesday as they seek to agree on the flow of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and secure a lasting ceasefire, a source with direct knowledge of the talks and an Iranian official said.
Iran and Israel said on Monday they had halted attacks against each other following an appeal from US President Donald Trump, while US forces simultaneously escalated pressure on Tehran by disabling an oil tanker attempting to reach an Iranian port in defiance of Washington's naval blockade.
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday Iran had shot down a US Apache helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz and vowed to respond, deepening doubts about prospects for peace between the two countries. Two US pilots involved in the incident were uninjured, said media reports.
Israel launched strikes against military targets in western and central Iran early Monday, defying reported calls from US President Donald Trump for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to refrain from retaliatory action following an Iranian missile attack on Israel.
