US natgas prices dip ahead of storage report as LNG plant flows slide to 15-week low

NEW YORK: U.S. natural gas futures eased on Thursday with gas flows to liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants on track to drop to a 15-week low during spring maintenance season.

Front-month gas futures for June delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 3.6 cents, or 1.3%, to $2.828 per million British thermal units (mmBtu).

That price decline came ahead of a federal report expected to show energy firms added a near-normal 85 billion cubic feet of gas to storage during the week ended May 8.

That compares with an increase of 109 bcf during the same week last year and a five-year (2021-2025) average increase of 84 bcf for the period.

Supply and demand

LSEG said average gas output in the U.S. Lower 48 states slid to 109.2 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in May, down from 109.8 bcfd in April and a monthly record high of 110.6 bcfd in December 2025.

On a daily basis, output was on track to drop by 4.0 bcfd over the past five days to a preliminary 15-week low of 106.1 bcfd on Thursday due mostly to declines in Pennsylvania and Arkansas. Preliminary data is often revised later in the day.

Output has fallen in recent weeks as low spot prices caused some energy firms, such as, the second-largest U.S. gas producer, to reduce production as they wait for prices to rise.

Meteorologists forecast the weather will remain mostly near normal through May 29.

LSEG projected average gas demand in the Lower 48 states, including exports, would hold around 99.2 bcfd this week and next. Those forecasts were higher than LSEG’s outlook on Wednesday.

Average gas flows to the nine big U.S. LNG export plants fell from a monthly record high of 18.8 bcfd in April to 17.0 bcfd so far in May due in part to reductions at several plants, including Exxon Mobil QatarEnergy’s Golden Pass and Freeport LNG’s plant in Texas.

On a daily basis, LNG feedgas was down even further - on track to drop to a 15-week low of 15.9 bcfd on Thursday.