European natural gas prices were slightly lower on Wednesday, with media reports suggesting that a few shipments have been allowed to transit the Strait of Hormuz.

By 09:39 ET (13:39 GMT), the benchmark Dutch front-month contract at the TTF hub had fallen by 0.6% to 46.440 euros per megawatt hour, according to Intercontinental Exchange data.

Two tankers carrying Qatari liquefied natural gas were on course for Pakistan after having bypassed the narrow waterway off of Iran’s southern coast in recent days, Reuters reported. Iran and Pakistan are said to have notched a bilateral energy deal, in a possible sign of Tehran’s control over the strait.

Restarting flows through the strait is crucial for Europe, which imports LNG that passes through the region. Gas storage sites in Europe were last 35.6% full, Reuters reported, versus roughly 42.8% the same time last year…