Despite signs over the weekend that armed conflict in the Middle East may be ratcheting up to a new level, global natural gas prices continued to edge downward as storage levels and weather trumped volatility.

After a series of missile strikes by U.S. and UK forces on suspected Houthi militia outposts in Yemen, militants and Iran made good on promises of retaliation. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard confirmed it had used ballistic missiles to attack locations in Iraq and northern Syria, while Houthi rebels attacked a U.S.-owned merchant ship near the Gulf of Aden.

Down In Africa

The latest wave of assaults around the key waterway prompted QatarEnergy to halt at least three liquefied natural gas vessels Monday, according to media reports and ship traffic data. Those vessels, all...