NEW YORK: US natural gas futures slid about 2 percent to a 16-week low on Wednesday on forecasts for warmer weather and lower demand next week than previously expected.
Gas futures for March delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 5 cents, or 1.6 percent, to USD3.065 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), putting the contract on track for its lowest close since October 17. On Tuesday, the front-month closed at its lowest price since January 16 for a second day in a row. In the cash market, meanwhile, average prices at the Waha Hub in the Permian Basin in West Texas remained in negative territory for a fifth day in a row and the 14th time this year, as pipeline constraints trapped gas in the nation’s biggest oil-producing basin.
Daily Waha prices first fell below zero in 2019. They did so 17 times in 2019, six times in 2020, once in 2023, a record 49 times in 2024, and 39 times in 2025.
Waha prices have averaged USD1.49 per mmBtu so far this year, compared with USD1.15 in 2025 and a five-year average (2021-2025) of USD2.88.
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