The International Energy Agency warned on Monday that Europe needs to cut its use of natural gas this winter to preserve its inventory.

As Russia uses natural gas supplies as a political weapon, gas saving measures could be crucial to maintain high storage levels.

"Security of supply has become a top priority in Europe and other importing regions as a total cut-off in Russian flows to Europe cannot be ruled out, creating further tensions and demand destruction for all competing Liquefied Natural Gas Importers," it said.

Europe's gas usage needs to be lower than its five-year average in order to keep inventories high.

The IEA said to turn down the thermostat by one degree and adjust the boiler temperature during the winter.

The IEA said that soaring gas costs have pushed down European consumption by 10% this year but more work needs to be done to keep Europe's energy supplies safe.

"Gas saving measures will be important to minimize storage withdrawals and keep inventories at adequate levels until the end of the heating season," it said.

Russia's reckless and unpredictable conduct has shattered its reputation as a reliable supplier. The IEA said in a statement that the markets were likely to remain tight well into the future.

Dutch TTF futures, the euro zone benchmark, have soared 165% year-to-date, pushing European natural gas prices to painful highs. In late August, they were at a rate of 340 euros per megawatthour. On the ICE exchange, prices were down 5.6%.

Since the invasion of Ukraine, Europe ean countries have been trying to replace Russian supplies with gas from other countries.

Western sanctions against Russia resulted in a number of natural gas cuts.

The EU and NATO both pointed to sabotage as the reason for last week's explosions.