With European gas prices hitting the highest since early 2023, the International Energy Agency says governments should consider strategic reserves, more flexible contracts and closer international cooperation to prepare for future natural gas shortages.

European gas prices jumped Tuesday to their highest level since the 2022-2023 crisis as storage lags and the Middle East crisis disrupts LNG supply.

With gas reserves unusually thin for this point in the year, Europe heads into winter bracing for higher energy bills, analysts have said. Benchmark European gas prices pushed…