NEW YORK: US natural gas futures fell about 3percent on Monday on expectations daily output will soon rise with the return to service of the Mountaineer XPress pipe in West Virginia over the weekend, while spot prices in the Northeast dropped to multi-year lows over a stormy weekend.
On its last day as the front month, gas futures for October delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 10.1 cents, or 3.2percent, to USD3.095 per million British thermal units (mmBtu).
Futures for November, which will soon be the front-month, were down about 3percent to USD3.13 per mmBtu.
In the spot market, next-day spot prices fell below USD1 per mmBtu in New York (lowest since 2020), New England (lowest since 2022) and the Mid-Atlantic (lowest since 2023) as demand for the fuel fell with a powerful nor’easter storm hitting the region over the weekend.
Financial firm LSEG said average gas output in the US Lower 48 states rose to 112.3 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in September, tying the monthly record high of 112.3 bcfd in August.
On a daily basis, however, output was on track to drop to a near-seven-month low of 107.5 bcfd on Monday, due in part to work on the Mountaineer XPress pipe in West Virginia.
Canadian energy firm TC Energy’s Columbia Gas Transmission unit lifted the force majeure on its Mountaineer XPress pipe on Sunday, a sign that more gas will flow out of the Marcellus/Utica shale region in coming days.
Columbia Gas Transmission declared the force majeure on Thursday, affecting around 1.4 to 1.8 bcfd of gas flows, due to a mechanical issue.
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