Due to Middle East conflicts disrupting the outlook for global energy supply, funds and other speculative capital have driven net long positions in European natural gas to their highest level in over a year. Data released by Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) on Wednesday showed that, as of the week ending March 6, the scale of bullish bets reached a new high since February of last year. Net long positions held by investment funds in Dutch benchmark natural gas futures surged by nearly 62%. After turning net long in January, fund positions had previously seen a slight pullback, setting the stage for the current market rebound. The current positioning structure indicates that traders are increasingly confident that natural gas prices still have room to rise, as conflicts involving Iran disrupt global energy markets and essentially halt oil and gas shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. Implied volatility in the European natural gas market remains particularly elevated, having surged fourfold since the beginning of the year. At the same time, European natural gas futures recorded their largest weekly gain since the energy crisis four years ago. Since the outbreak of the conflict, prices have accumulated an increase of over 50%.