European natural gas prices rose above €77 a megawatt-hour on Friday after three consecutive sessions of losses, with depleted inventories and disruptions to liquefied natural gas shipments keeping winter supply risks in focus. Storage facilities were around 68% full as the region entered winter, below seasonal averages and the European Union’s 80% capacity target for December. The US-Iran war severely curtailed LNG supplies from the Persian Gulf, while record summer heatwaves limited efforts to rebuild stocks. Strong Asian demand could intensify competition for LNG cargoes during colder weather, increasing Europe’s exposure to price spikes. Prices have nearly tripled this year and reached their highest level since December 2022 earlier in the week. An earlier market update put the Dutch TTF contract at 78.37 euros a megawatt-hour, up 0.45%.