US natgas prices slide on rising output, lingering LNG export plant maintenance

NEW YORK: US natural gas futures fell about 3percent on Friday on a small increase in output and lingering liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant maintenance after rising to a 16-week high in the prior session on forecasts for more heat and higher demand through late June.

Front-month gas futures for July delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 10.7 cents, or 3.2percent, to settle at USD3.229 per million British thermal units (mmBtu). On Thursday, the contract closed at its highest since February 6.

For the week, the contract fell about 2percent after gaining about 13percent last week. In the cash market, gas prices at the Waha Hub in West Texas rose to their highest since early February, though they were still in negative territory, as demand for the fuel rises with summer’s approach and pipeline companies start to wrap up spring maintenance.

In the Pacific Northwest, meanwhile, ample supplies of cheap hydropower and low demand cut next-day power prices at the Mid-Columbia hub on the Washington-Oregon border to 13 cents per megawatt-hour (MWh), the lowest level since May 2020.

Financial group LSEG said average gas output in the US Lower 48 states dropped to 108.8 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in June, down from 109.7 bcfd in May and a monthly record high of 110.6 bcfd in December 2025. Average output so far in June was higher than earlier in the week.

Analysts said mild weather during the spring allowed energy firms to stockpile more gas than usual.