NEW YORK: US natural gas futures climbed about 3percent to a six-week high on Wednesday on forecasts for more demand than previously expected and a continued decline in output in recent days.
Front-month gas futures for June delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 8.1 cents, or 2.8percent, to USD2.924 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), putting the contract on track for its highest close since March 27.
In the cash market, average gas prices at the Waha Hub in West Texas have remained in negative territory for a record 68 days in a row as pipeline constraints trap gas in the Permian region, the nation’s biggest oil-producing shale basin.
In the West, mild weather and ample hydropower supplies cut next-day power prices at the Mid Columbia hub in Oregon to their lowest since June 2022 and pushed spot power at South Path 15 in Southern California into negative territory for a ninth time so far this year.
LSEG said average gas output in the US Lower 48 states slid to 109.3 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 3.8 bcfd over the past four days to a preliminary 15-week low of 106.4 bcfd on Wednesday due mostly to declines in Texas and Louisiana.
Preliminary data is often revised later in the day. Output has fallen in recent weeks as low spot prices caused some energy firms, like EQT, the second-largest US gas producer, to reduce production as they wait for prices to rise in the future.
Analysts said mild weather earlier this spring allowed energy firms to inject more gas into storage than usual so far this year.
But, they noted, recent output declines coupled with higher demand from near-normal weather likely reduced the inventory surplus to around 6percent above normal during the week ended May 7, down from 7percent above during the week ended May 1. Meteorologists forecast the weather will remain mostly near normal through May 28.
LSEG projected average gas demand in the Lower 48 states, including exports, would hold around 98.9 bcfd this week and next. Those forecasts were higher than LSEG’s outlook on Tuesday.
Average gas flows to the nine big US LNG export plants fell from a monthly record high of 18.8 bcfd in April to 17.2 bcfd so far in May due in part to maintenance at several plants, including Freeport LNG in Texas and Cameron LNG in Louisiana.