European natural-gas prices climbed to their highest level since the end of 2022 as escalating hostilities between the U.S. and Iran heightened concerns about prolonged disruptions to energy flows. Dutch front-month futures, Europe’s benchmark, rose 2.3% to €73.85 per megawatt-hour in early European trading and are up 25% this month. Tensions in the Persian Gulf are clouding the outlook for regional LNG exports, while European storage remains below seasonal norms. Europe is currently a more profitable destination for LNG cargoes than Asia after shipping costs, but analysts at ING expect competition between the regions to intensify as winter approaches, particularly if Qatari LNG remains largely absent through year-end.