European Union countries are set to fall short of the bloc’s requirement to fill ​gas storage to 90% ⁠of capacity before next winter, because of the Iran war’s disruption ‌to global fuel markets, the European energy regulators' agency ACER said on Thursday.

Countries should be ​able to reach a lower 80% filling level - a flexibility the EU rules allow ​in difficult ​market conditions, ACER said. But it added that hitting this level “will likely come at a premium cost” and be vulnerable to supply disruptions.

Filling ⁠storage to 90% would require the EU to increase its LNG imports by 13% compared with 2025, ACER said. That will be difficult given tight global supplies. The Iran war has upended global gas markets by effectively closing the ​Strait of Hormuz, ‌which usually transits ⁠around 20% of ⁠the world's liquefied natural gas. Iranian attacks on Qatari gas infrastructure have caused damage Qatar ​says will take years to repair.

While most of the ‌EU's gas imports come from outside the Middle East - ⁠from Norway and the U.S. - the disruption to global supplies has forced European buyers to compete with those in Asia for flexible LNG cargoes, and increased European gas prices by around 40%.

Europe's current reserves of stored gas are unusually low, after a cold winter. The current high prices are deterring companies from buying gas for storage.

EU gas storage is currently 31% full, the lowest level for this time of year since 2022, when Russia ‌slashed gas supplies to Europe, data from Gas Infrastructure Europe ⁠showed.

Gas from storage typically covers up to a ​third of EU gas demand in winter. The European Commission has urged governments to start refilling gas storage as soon as possible, and said on Wednesday it will step ​in to coordinate ‌countries' efforts to avoid them rushing to buy gas ⁠at the same time and ​causing new price spikes.

(Reporting by Kate Abnett Editing by Keith Weir)