The waterway provides passage to the Suez Canal that links the Persian Gulf, Asia and Europe. In Asia, LNG spot buying has picked up dramatically, particularly in South Asia amid summer heat. The Middle East conflict has kept prompt prices high, providing little incentive to store natural gas for later consumption. Its current path has it on track to move over many of the region’s LNG export terminals. The storm could add downward pressure on US natural gas prices, which have been challenged by strong domestic production and healthy storage inventories.