US natural gas futures prices extended earlier gains, surpassing an eight-week high by midday on Wednesday, supported by persistent heat across the central US and a rebound in LNG feedgas flows.
Both the front-month Henry Hub futures contract and the continuous contract rose 1.58% to $2.950 per million British thermal units.
October natural gas futures gained as forecasts indicated temperatures would remain mostly above normal across the central and eastern US through mid-September, likely keeping demand for gas-fired power generation elevated.
Power burn, or natural gas consumed for power generation, remained elevated at roughly 48.5 billion cubic feet per day, about 20% above September 2025 levels, NRG Energy said. Gelber & Associates pegged power burn at 48.3 Bcf/d on Wednesday.
LNG feedgas demand was holding at 18.7 Bcf/d on Wednesday despite softer nominations at Sabine Pass following Tropical Depression Edouard. No prolonged storm-related disruption had been confirmed at Gulf Coast export facilities, keeping LNG demand relatively strong as the storm moved inland, G&A said.
Trading Economics said its data showed average gas flows to the nine major LNG export plants rose to 18.3 Bcf/d in early September from 17.2 Bcf/d in August, as Cheniere Energy's (LNG) Corpus Christi facility and Freeport LNG in Texas returned to full operations following maintenance.
Strong production also helped temper price gains. G&A estimated US natural gas production at 110.8 Bcf/d on Wednesday, with Canadian imports at 5.9 Bcf/d, putting total supply near 116.7 Bcf/d.
However, it said the production figure should be treated with some caution because recent early-cycle declines have been revised higher later in the day, but the current reading was still helping to support prices.
Trading Economics said output in August reached a record 111.5 Bcf/d, up from 110.7 Bcf/d in July.
The US Energy Information Administration's weekly storage report due for release on Thursday is expected to provide the next gauge of late-summer gas-market tightness, G&A said, while forecasting a 28 Bcf injection for the week ended Aug. 28, compared with a 45 Bcf build in the comparable week last year and a five-year average of about 37 Bcf.
The 28 Bcf estimate would represent a 17 Bcf tighter build year over year. G&A said strong cooling demand and elevated LNG exports during the storage week helped explain the smaller expected injection, particularly after inventories rose by only 15 Bcf in the previous report.
A build near 28 Bcf would extend the recent run of below-normal injections while keeping projected fall inventories near 3.9 trillion cubic feet, it said.
Additionally, geopolitical tensions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz remain a key upside risk for energy prices, with further disruptions potentially tightening global crude and LNG balances and adding volatility across the broader energy complex, NRG Energy said.
Price: $295.49, Change: $+1.36, Percent Change: +0.46%