Global tug-of-war for LNG puts European gas prices on edge

Meanwhile, Italy, which sources 25 per cent of its LNG from Qatar and where utility Enel said it has lost five April cargoes, said on Friday it is looking for alternative suppliers.

Still, Europe is in a much better position in the short-term and can afford some cargo diversions, said LSEG analyst Saku Jussila.

"However, this is not sustainable through all summer if the conflict gets prolonged," he added.

LSEG lowered its European LNG send-out forecast for April by around 400 gigawatt hours (GWh) per day because of the conflict and lowered its 46-day storage outlook, Jussila said.

EU gas storage sites were last 29.6 per cent full, compared with around 37.2 per cent at the same time last year, Gas Infrastructure Europe data showed.

(Reporting by Nora Buli; editing by Nina Chestney)