According to CoinMeta, the German Ministry of Economics stated that at the beginning of winter, a natural gas reserve level of 60% to 70% would be sufficient to meet demand, indicating that Europe's largest energy consumer will not have much buffer space in the event of supply disruptions. The ministry added that if energy supply security is threatened, the government "is able and will respond." Since the beginning of this year, due to disruptions in natural gas supplies from the Middle East, the attractiveness of stockpiling has diminished for utility companies and traders, making it difficult for Europe to replenish its natural gas reserves. The current inventory levels on the European continent are below normal for this period, with the average filling rate of gas storage facilities across the EU being slightly above 61%, which is the lowest level recorded for the same time frame since 2009. As the largest gas storage market in the region, Germany's gas storage facilities have a filling rate of only about 50%.