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European natural gas is headed for a weekly drop, with many market players pulling back from trading futures after wild price swings and focusing instead on options.

Benchmark futures swung on Friday, with the most recent headlines from the Middle East pushing prices lower. Turkey said it’s got permission from Iranian authorities for one ship to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, according to state-run Anadolu Agency. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said the US will be hitting Iran “very hard” next week, but added, “Hopefully things are going to go very well.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticised the US decision to ease sanctions against Russia by temporarily allowing oil sales to try to ease pressure on prices triggered by the Iran war.

The Trump administration has issued its second authorisation for buyers to take Russian oil cargoes already at sea, expanding a temporary waiver given last week to India. The move stoked concern among Ukraine’s allies that the Kremlin stands to benefit from the spike in energy prices and will use the extra funds to bankroll its four-year war on its western neighbour.

“Let me be very clear: we believe it would be wrong to ease sanctions now, for whatever reason,” Merz said Friday at a joint news conference with his Norwegian counterpart, Jonas Gahr Støre.

World shares retreated on Friday (March 13) while oil prices again popped above $100 per barrel as anxiety remained over the Iran war and its impact on supplies of crude oil and gas.

In early European trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.7% to 10,235.29. Germany’s DAX lost 1% to 23,345.90, while France’s CAC 40 dropped 1.2% to 7,887.18.

In Asian trading, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index slipped 1.2% to 53,819.61. Technology-related stocks saw some of the bigger losses, with SoftBank Group falling 4.5%. South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.7% to 5,487.24. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1% to 25,465.60, while the Shanghai Composite index was down 0.8% at 4,095.45.

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