EUROPE GAS-European gas prices fall as Trump says US may exit Iran war soon

LONDON, April 1 (Reuters) - Benchmark Dutch and British wholesale gas prices fell on Wednesday afternoon after U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States will end its war on Iran fairly soon but could return for "spot hits" if needed.

The benchmark Dutch front-month contract at the TTF hub TFMBMc1 was down 6.81% at 47.30 euros per megawatt hour (MWh), or around $16.16/mmBtu, by 1612 GMT, ICE data showed.

The British April contract NGLNMc1 was down 6.57% at 119.69 pence per therm, ICE data showed.

Asked when the United States would consider the Iran war over, Trump said: "I can't tell you exactly ... we're going to be out pretty quickly."

Trump also said he would state in a primetime address to the nation, which is due at 9 p.m. EDT on Wednesday (0100 GMT on Thursday), that he was considering withdrawing the U.S. from the NATO alliance.

Roughly a fifth of the world's LNG typically passes through the Strait of Hormuz, but shipping through the narrow waterway has come to a near-standstill since the U.S. and Israel began strikes on Iran on February 28.

"Geopolitics is therefore likely to remain the dominant (price) driver," LSEG analyst Wayne Bryan said in a daily research note.

"We expect further downside in gas prices as geopolitical risk continues to unwind," he said.

EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen on Tuesday warned member states to prepare for "prolonged disruption" to energy markets as a result of the Iran war and said it was considering reviving energy crisis measures it used in 2022 when Russia slashed gas deliveries.

Emergency policies introduced in 2022 included an EU-wide cap on gas prices, a tax on energy companies' windfall profits, and targets to curb gas demand.

In the European carbon market, the benchmark contract CFI2Zc1 was up 2.07 euros at 74.58 euros a metric ton.