Europe's Gas Storage Woes: War Delay Sparks Winter Price Shock

Europe's hopes for an early end to the war between the US and Iran have gone awry, leaving the continent scrambling to fill its gas storage facilities ahead of winter.

Hopes that prices would fall as Qatar's liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies normalized after the war have not materialized, with the conflict now in its seventh month.

According to the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal, Europe's natural gas storage facilities are currently at 65.6% capacity, the lowest level for this time of year since records began 15 years ago.

The EU's target is typically 80-90% full by November 1, but with prices surging more than 75% in the past two months, European energy corporations are facing a bigger burden to fill storage with gas.