European natural-gas prices remained well supported, and ING said “the market and [EU] member countries are becoming increasingly concerned about the task of refilling storage through the injection season and the fact that the forward curve provides no incentive to store gas for next winter.

Tankers carrying liquefied natural gas are changing course in the Atlantic and heading to Europe, as cargo owners look to profit from a market hit by the loss of Russian pipeline gas flows through Ukraine.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Friday threatened to block attempts to renew EU sanctions on Russia, linking his support to efforts to reopen a gas pipeline across Ukraine to Central Europe.