NEW YORK: US natural gas futures edged up about 1 percent on Wednesday to a one-week high on lower output, rising flows to liquefied natural gas export plants and forecasts for more demand than previously expected because of hot weather this week.
Front-month gas futures for August delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 3.7 cents, or 1.1 percent, to USD3.302 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), putting the contract on track for its highest close since June 25.
Financial group LSEG said average gas output in the US Lower 48 states has slid to 109.4 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in July, down from 110.0 bcfd in June and a monthly record high of 110.6 bcfd in December 2025.
Analysts said mostly mild weather during the spring allowed energy firms to stockpile more gas than usual.
They projected the amount of gas in inventories would hold around 6.4 percent above normal during the week ended July 3, similar to the previous week.
Meteorologists forecast the weather would remain mostly warmer than normal through July 23, keeping the amount of gas power generators burn high as homes and businesses crank up air conditioners. About 40 percent of US power generation comes from gas-fired plants.
LSEG projected average gas demand in the Lower 48 states, including exports, would hold at 109.8 bcfd this week and next week. The forecast for this week was higher than LSEG’s outlook on Tuesday.
Average gas flows to the nine big US LNG export plants have risen to 17.8 bcfd so far in July, up from 17.4 bcfd in June, but remain below the monthly record high of 18.8 bcfd in April.
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