US natural gas futures recovered in midday trading Thursday, paring an earlier 1.49% drop to trade near the previous session's close, after a larger-than-expected weekly storage build.
The front-month Henry Hub contract and the continuous contract were each down 0.25% at $2.82 per million British thermal units.
The US Energy Information Administration reported a 40 billion cubic feet injection into underground storage for the week ended Sep. 4, above the median analyst estimate of a 34 Bcf build.
The increase was within the expected range of 22 Bcf to 43 Bcf, with the upper end considered more bearish and the lower end more bullish, Aegis Hedging said.
Working gas in storage stood at 3,254 Bcf, according to the EIA, 79 Bcf below year-earlier levels and 148 Bcf above the five-year average of 3,106 Bcf.
Storage injections continued to lag historical benchmarks, Pinebrook Energy Advisors said. The latest build was below the five-year average increase of 52 Bcf and the 69 Bcf addition recorded during the same week in 2025.
It marked the fourth straight report in which net storage additions lagged both benchmarks. Despite the sustained pace of below-average injections, inventories remain on a healthy trajectory heading into the fall shoulder season, Pinebrook said.
Strong production has also continued to weigh on the market. Lower 48 output has averaged a record 112.9 Bcf per day so far in September, surpassing August's monthly high, according to Trading Economics. Strong production has more than offset support from robust demand.
On the demand side, power-sector gas consumption is expected to decline as cooler autumn temperatures begin to take hold.
Weather forecasts continue to favor above-normal temperatures across much of the central and eastern US through mid-September before shifting to a more variable pattern later in the month, NRG Energy said.
Total gas demand is expected to decline from Wednesday's levels, primarily because of a 1.6 Bcf/d drop in power burn.
LNG feedgas demand continues to provide support, with flows remaining near capacity. Gelber and Associates estimated LNG feedgas demand at about 19.6 Bcf/d.