NEW YORK: US natural gas futures eased about 1percent on Monday on a slow rise in output so far this month and forecasts for less demand over the next two weeks than previously expected.
Front-month gas futures for April delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 1.5 cents, or 0.5percent, to USD3.116 per million British thermal units (mmBtu). In the US cash market, average prices at the Waha Hub in West Texas remained in negative territory for a record 27 days in a row as pipeline constraints trapped gas in the Permian, the nation’s biggest oil-producing shale basin.
Average gas output in the US Lower 48 states rose to 110.0 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in March, up from 109.2 bcfd in February, according to data from financial firm LSEG. That compares with a monthly record high of 110.6 bcfd in December 2025.
Energy analysts said mostly mild weather in recent weeks has allowed energy firms to take the somewhat unusual step of injecting gas into storage during the winter heating season in March, boosting stockpiles to near normal levels for the week ended March 13, up from around 1percent below normal for the week ended March 6.
Meteorologists forecast heating demand would remain near normal across most of the country through March 31, but noted that hot weather in some parts of the country, like California, would boost demand for gas to fuel power generators needed to keep air conditioners humming.
High temperatures in Los Angeles will reach record-breaking levels over 95 Fahrenheit (35 Celsius) this week, according to meteorologists at AccuWeather. That compares with usual highs of around 70 F in the city at this time of year. In the eastern half of the country, meanwhile, over half a million homes and businesses were without power following a series of storms that have battered the region since late last week. Those outages reduce the amount of gas power generators need to burn to produce electricity.
LSEG projected average gas demand in the Lower 48 states, including exports, would drop from 123.6 bcfd this week to 115.8 bcfd next. Those forecasts were lower than LSEG’s outlook on Friday.
Average gas flows to the nine big US liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants slid to 18.4 bcfd so far in March, down from a record 18.7 bcfd in February.
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