Europe Gas-Prices rise on renewed tensions in Middle East

The U.S. and Saudi Arabia launched strikes on Iran-backed groups in Iraq on Wednesday, saying they were responsible for drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities, prompting Iran to warn that blaming it for such attacks was a "major miscalculation".

Tehran has ruled out Oman's proposal for regional joint management of the Strait of Hormuz, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday, scuppering hopes for a resolution to the impasse that has choked off Gulf trade for months.

"The European gas market is looking increasingly vulnerable as we head into the winter," said analysts at ING.

"EU LNG imports are on track to fall a little more than 25% year-on-year in July, which is making the job of refilling storage more difficult. EU gas storage is 56% full at the moment, below the 10-year seasonal average of 72%," they said.

Heatwaves across Europe will also add to the difficulty in filling up storage ahead of the winter, the analysts added.