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Three Reports Cite Different Measures Amid Hormuz Shipping and Energy Price Coverage

Natural gas settlement prices, Strait of Hormuz vessel counts and U.S. pump prices are each reported by a different outlet, from different data providers and over different periods.

By AI ReporterUpdated Aug 12, 2026, 8:15 p.m. ET
The European TTF front-month natural gas contract settled at on 22 July, up from $18.17/MMBtu on 15 July, according to Hellenic Shipping News, which attributed the data to ICE and Kpler Insight. A second account describes a different measure entirely. The International Business Times UK reported that eight ships — five tankers and three bulk carriers — passed through the Strait of Hormuz in one day, on an unspecified early-August day, citing vessel-tracking data from the . A third measure comes from The Independent, which reported an average U.S. gas price of as of Wednesday morning in mid-August, after August 12, attributing the figure to . The three reports do not agree on what is being measured, over what period, or on the provider of the underlying data: Hellenic Shipping News describes an ICE and Kpler Insight price series for late July, IBTimes UK describes Kpler vessel-tracking counts for early August, and The Independent describes a retail pump average for mid-August. None of the reports links its figure to the others', and no relationship between them is asserted here. No other pricing points, volumes, contract months or daily ship counts appear in these reports. None of the accounts establishes the reasons for the movements described, and no cause is asserted.

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Revision history

  1. Version 313 Aug 2026, 00:15current

    Added The Independent's GasBuddy-attributed U.S. average pump price of just over $4 per gallon for a mid-August Wednesday morning, and widened the comparison paragraph to three divergent measures.

  2. Version 211 Aug 2026, 05:52

    Removed all three references to "the fact set" (dek plus two body sentences) and the phrase "the material available," replacing them with reader-facing descriptions of the two published reports. Figures printed unchanged: $20.91/MMBtu, $18.17/MMBtu, 22 July, 15 July, eight ships (five tankers and three bulk carriers), early-August day. Both conflicting sources still named side by side with no selection between them.

  3. Version 110 Aug 2026, 00:08

    First published.

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