US natgas futures rise with soaring global prices, colder forecasts

US natural gas futures rose over 3% to a two-week high on Tuesday on forecasts for colder weather and more heating demand over the next two weeks than previously expected.

Traders also noted gas prices around the world were trading at their highest in years, prompting buyers in Europe and Asia to purchase more US liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Front-month gas futures rose 9.2 cents, or 3.6%, to $2.673 per million British thermal units at 7:48 a.m. EST (1248 GMT), putting the contract on track for its highest close since Dec. 22.

With the front month up 16% over the past five days, the premium of the front-month over the second-month rose to its highest since January 2020.

Speculators cut their net long positions last week on the New York Mercantile and Intercontinental Exchanges for a second week in a row to the lowest since early December due to mostly mild weather so far this winter.

Data provider Refinitiv said output in the Lower 48 US states averaged 91.8 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in January. That compares with an eight-month high of 91.5 bcfd in December 2020 and an all-time monthly high of 95.4 bcfd in November 2019.

With colder weather coming, Refinitiv projected average demand, including exports, would rise from 120.4 bcfd this week to 126.2 bcfd next week.

The amount of gas flowing to US LNG export plants, meanwhile, averaged 10.6 bcfd so far in January, just short of December's 10.7-bcfd record.

That all-time high comes as the third train at Cheniere Energy Inc's Corpus Christi LNG plant in Texas prepares to enter commercial service.

Gas prices have this week hit their highest since February 2013 in Asia and since January 2019 in Europe.