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US Natural Gas Update: Futures Edge Higher Amid Above-Average Temperatures, Tighter Fundamentals

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US natural gas futures edged higher on Wednesday, amid forecasts of above-average near-term temperatures and tightening fundamentals.

Both the Henry Hub front-month futures and continuous contracts were up 1.21%, at $3.19 per million British thermal units.

Over two-thirds of the country is expected to see above-normal temperatures, barring the Westernmost regions, during July 1 to July 7, according to the National Weather Service, leading to increased demand for space cooling power.

Meanwhile, LNG export feedgas flows continued to edge higher, estimated at 18.96 billion cubic feet per day, compared to the 30-day moving average of 18.15 Bcf/d, according to the Bloomberg LNG Feedgas Model.

Forecasts expect the weekly natural gas storage report, scheduled to be released on Thursday, to show a net injection of 67 Bcf, down from a net build of 73 Bcf the prior week and 96 Bcf during the same period last year, according to data compiled by Investing.com.

This marks another bullish signal for the markets, as Pinebrook Energy Advisors noted that if inventories continued to remain above the five-year average surplus, it could "keep a lid on prices," failing which the market would "break to the upside."

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