Tuesday 26 May daily market report

Prices move lower amid efforts by Qatar to help negotiate an end to the war.

Gas and power

 Prices settled lower for the week on Friday as a Qatari negotiating team arrived in Tehran, in coordination with the United States, in an effort to help secure a deal to end the conflict with Iran and resolve outstanding issues. However, losses were somewhat limited ahead of the extended weekend, with market participants remaining cautious about taking strong directional positions. At the same time, the gradual return of Norwegian flows added to the downward pressure on markets. 

Adjacent markets

 Equity markets finished the week strongly, with most of the major global indices showing positive weekly gains. Oil markets were volatile but declined over the week, reflecting optimism that a US-Iran peace deal could be reached, but a lack of clarity about how long it will take to achieve. Despite UK political uncertainty around a potential challenge to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the pound strengthened against both the dollar and the euro.