European natural-gas prices jumped back their highest level since the first trading day of the year as freezing weather in Texas threatened U.S. LNG exports.

Tankers carrying liquefied natural gas are changing course in the Atlantic and heading to Europe, as cargo owners look to profit from a market hit by the loss of Russian pipeline gas flows through Ukraine.

Several US LNG cargoes initially meant for Asia were diverted to Europe due to higher natural gas prices in Europe compared to Asia.

European natural-gas prices rose more than 3%, a jump largely attributed to an outage at the U.S. Freeport LNG facility and news that Germany might subsidize storage refills this summer to ensure the country reaches its target.