Crude oil prices rose sharply on Monday as intensifying hostilities between Israel, the U.S., and Iran forced shutdowns of regional energy facilities and blocked traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, leaving nearly 150 vessels stranded. Saudi Arabia’s top refinery was taken offline after a drone strike, and Qatar paused LNG output with force majeure looming from QatarEnergy. Hence, Brent crude surged by 7.3% to $77.74 per barrel, while WTI crude advanced by 6.3% to $71.23 per barrel, both reaching their highest levels since June 2025.
The British spot gas price climbed by 43% to 114 p/therm, marking a one-year high, amid mounting LNG supply concerns related to the Middle East conflict.
Along the curve, the Summer 2026 delivery contract rallied about 35% to 103.28 p/therm, an eight-month peak, as fears of tightening supplies intensified while Europe relies on LNG to refill storage this summer, currently 14% below the 10-year average.
European spot electricity prices hiked on Monday amid forecasts for a steep drop in wind output. The German day-ahead power price jumped to 106.52 EUR/MWh, while the French equivalent contract surged to 59.32 EUR/MWh.
Along the forward curve, contracts advanced in line with rising gas prices as traders weighed the implications of escalating Middle East tensions. The German 2027 delivery contract rose by 2.2% to 81.47 EUR/MWh, while the French equivalent contract soared by 4.2% to 52.14 EUR/MWh.
On Monday, European carbon prices recorded modest increases, with EUAs absorbing the narrower fuel-switch differential that favoured coal and brushing aside wider macroeconomic risk aversion. As a result, the EUAs expiring in Dec-2026 edged 0.4% higher at 70.57 EUR/tonne.
Mar 3, 2026