European natural gas followed crude oil higher Thursday, with the benchmark Dutch TTF contract recently trading +4.2% to €52.06/MWh (NG1:COM) after adding as much as 7.7% and recovering some of the losses earlier this week.

U.S. natural gas prices remain relatively stable around $3.10–$3.40/MMBtu because export terminals are already operating near full capacity and domestic production continues to rise.

The increase of gas prices comes as the Strait of Hormuz is shut - that's where nearly one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas passes.

Investors across the world are keenly focused on the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman that separates the world’s biggest oil and natural gas producers from their customers. The strait carries one-fifth of the world’s oil and a significant amount of natural gas.

Oil and natural gas remain vital to the world economy, and higher prices will ripple through the system.

European natural gas prices jumped again on Monday, now almost doubling since the start of the war. Benchmark prices rose above €60 per megawatt hour, compared with €32 before the U.S. attack on Iran.

Gasoline prices continued rising Wednesday nearly two weeks after the U.S. and Israel began military strikes on Iran.