U.S. natural gas futures fell on Thursday and were on track for a second straight weekly decline as ample supplies, lower oil prices and a milder weather outlook weighed on the market.
Front-month gas futures for August delivery NYMEX:NG1! on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 4.7 cents, or 1.5%, to $3.17 per million British thermal units. The contract was down 2.1% so far this week. Markets will be closed on Friday for the Independence Day holiday.
"This market is drifting lower partially on spillover from the weak oil pricing and on further moderation in the short-term temperature outlooks. Moderation away from this week's extreme heat amid ample storage levels is deterring buying interest," Consultancy Ritterbusch & Associates said in a note.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said energy companies added an above-normal 87 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas into storage during the week ended June 26, keeping overall stockpiles around 6.2% above normal levels for this time of year.
That was higher than the 81 bcf build analysts forecast in a Reuters poll and compares with an injection of 61 bcf during the same week a year ago and an average increase for that week of 64 bcf over the past five years.
Oil prices fell nearly 2% for the third consecutive day as concerns over supply disruptions eased after Qatar said Iran and the U.S. had made progress in talks over the Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, meteorologists forecast warmer-than-normal temperatures nationwide through July 16, although forecasts have moderated slightly as Cooling Degree Days fell from 253 on Wednesday to 247 on Thursday. CDDs measure energy demand to cool buildings.
Financial group LSEG said average gas output in the U.S. Lower 48 states fell to 109.6 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in July, down from 110 bcfd in June. That reading compares with a monthly record high of 110.6 bcfd in December 2025.
LSEG projected average gas demand in the Lower 48 states, including exports, would rise from 105.8 bcfd this week to 109.6 bcfd next week.
Average gas flows to the nine big U.S. LNG export plants rose to 17.8 bcfd so far in July from 17.3 bcfd in June. That reading compares with a monthly record high of 18.8 bcfd in April.
Dutch and British wholesale gas prices were steady after Qatar said Iran and the U.S. had made progress in indirect talks while low gas storage levels continued to support the market.
Week ended Jun 26 Actual Week ended Jun 19 Actual Year ago Jun 26 Five-year average (2021-2025) Jun 26 | U.S. weekly natgas storage change (bcf): +87 +76 +61 +64 | U.S. total natgas in storage (bcf): 2,922 2,835 2,945 2,747 | U.S. total storage versus 5-year average +6.2% +5.7% | Global Gas Benchmark Futures ($ per mmBtu) Current Day Prior Day This Month Last Year Prior Year Average 2025 Five-Year Average (2021-2025) | Henry Hub NYMEX:NG1! 3.22 3.28 3.30 3.62 3.79 | Title Transfer Facility (TTF) ICEENDEX:TFM1! 15.03 12.78 9.98 11.94 18.51 | Japan-Korea Marker (JKM) (JKMc1) 16.03 16.05 12.53 12.24 18.12 | LSEG U.S. Global Forecast System (GFS) Heating, Cooling and Total Degree Days | Two-Week Total Forecast Current Day Prior Day Prior Year 10-Year Norm 30-Year Norm | U.S. GFS Heating Degree Days (HDD) 2 3 3 3 4 | U.S. GFS Cooling Degree Days (CDD) 245 250 187 179 167 | U.S. GFS Total Degree Days (TDD) 247 253 190 182 171 | LSEG U.S. Weekly GFS Supply and Demand Forecasts | Prior Week Current Week Next Week This Week Last Year Five-Year (2021-2025) Average for Month | U.S. Supply (bcfd) | U.S. Lower 48 Dry Production 110.4 110.4 110.4 107.5 101.4 | U.S. Imports from Canada 7.1 7.1 6.8 N/A 8.2 | U.S. LNG Imports 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 | Total U.S. Supply 117.5 117.5 117.2 N/A 109.6 | U.S. Demand (bcfd) | U.S. Exports to Canada 2.0 2.2 2.1 N/A 2.3 | U.S. Exports to Mexico 7.4 7.3 7.3 N/A 6.6 | U.S. LNG Export Feedgas 17.6 17.8 17.9 15.4 11.0 | U.S. Commercial 4.3 4.3 4.3 4.3 4.7 | U.S. Residential 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.6 | U.S. Power Plant 38.5 41.3 45.1 44.2 46.1 | U.S. Industrial 21.6 21.6 21.6 22.2 21.8 | U.S. Plant Fuel 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.4 5.3 | U.S. Pipe Distribution 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.0 3.2 | U.S. Vehicle Fuel 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 | Total U.S. Consumption 75.6 78.5 82.3 81.8 84.9 | Total U.S. Demand 102.7 105.8 109.6 N/A 104.8 | N/A = Not Available | U.S. Northwest River Forecast Center (NWRFC) at The Dalles Dam (fiscal year ending September 30) 2026 Current Day % of Normal Forecast 2026 Prior Day % of Normal Forecast 2025 % of Normal Actual 2024 % of Normal Actual 2023 % of Normal Actual | Apr-Sep 84 84 76 74 83 | Jan-Jul 90 89 78 76 77 | Oct-Sep 94 94 80 77 76 | U.S. weekly power generation percent by fuel - EIA | Week ended July 3 Week ended June 26 2025 2024 2023 | Wind 14 10 11 11 10 | Solar 9 9 6 5 4 | Hydro 5 6 6 6 6 | Other 1 1 1 1 2 | Petroleum 0 0 0 0 0 | Natural Gas 37 40 40 42 41 | Coal 17 16 18 16 17 | Nuclear 17 19 18 19 19 | SNL U.S. Natural Gas Next-Day Prices ($ per mmBtu) | Hub Current Day Prior Day This Month Last Year Prior Year Average 2025 Five-Year Average (2021-2025) | Henry Hub (NG-W-HH-SNL) 3.38 3.33 3.20 3.52 3.72 | Transco Z6 New York (NG-CG-NY-SNL) 2.71 3.01 2.87 3.53 3.56 | PG&E Citygate (NG-CG-PGE-SNL) 0.83 0.83 3.45 3.42 5.47 | Eastern Gas (formerly Dominion South) (NG-PCN-APP-SNL) 2.52 2.71 2.61 2.79 2.96 | Chicago Citygate (NG-CG-CH-SNL) 2.78 2.85 2.95 3.23 3.60 | Algonquin Citygate (NG-CG-BS-SNL) 4.73 3.83 4.50 6.08 5.04 | SoCal Citygate (NG-SCL-CGT-SNL) 1.93 2.22 3.70 3.60 5.71 | Waha Hub (NG-WAH-WTX-SNL) 0.68 0.87 1.57 1.15 2.88 | AECO (NG-ASH-ALB-SNL) 1.32 0.96 0.51 1.13 2.13 | Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) U.S. Power Next-Day Prices ($ per megawatt-hour) | Hub Current Day Prior Day This Month Last Year Prior Year Average 2025 Five-Year Average (2021-2025) | New England (E-NEPLMHP-IDX) 257.47 142.84 89.06 77.12 61.67 | PJM West (E-PJWHRTP-IX) 574.04 361.42 87.25 60.23 54.47 | Mid-Columbia (Mid C) (W-MIDCP-IDX) 13.51 7.47 52.17 44.81 68.96 | Palo Verde (W-PVP-IDX) 16.75 13.00 48.82 34.82 59.94 | South Path-15 (SP-15) (W-SP15-IDX) 3.83 2.15 33.95 28.44 53.02 |