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US Natural Gas Update: Futures Edge Lower Amid Bearish Storage Report, Easing Weather Forecasts

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US natural gas futures edged lower on Friday, hitting a three-week low amid a bearish storage report, alongside easing weather-related momentum.

The front-month Henry Hub contract and the continuous contract each dropped 0.56% to settle at $2.818 per million British thermal units. They were set to end the week down by 6.02%, according to data from TradingEconomics.

The US Energy Information Administration's weekly gas storage supplement for the week ended Sept. 4 on Thursday reported a net injection of 40 billion cubic feet of gas into storage, above last week's 30 Bcf build and ahead of forecasts of 35 Bcf.

This was, however, below the prior year's 71 Bcf net injection, and the five-year average for this period, at 52 Bcf, according to data compiled by Investing.com.

Total working gas inventories stood at 3,254 Bcf, up 148 Bcf, or 5%, from the five-year average for this period, but down 79 Bcf, or 2%, from the same time last year.

Besides this, weather forecasts continued to point to near- and below-normal temperatures across the Northern and Northeastern parts of the country from September 18 through September 24, according to the National Weather Service, weighing on near-term cooling gas demand.

Pinebrook Energy Advisors noted that this week's storage data clearly indicated weather playing "a reduced role as a price driver" as September progresses and temperatures begin to moderate before the onset of winter.

Meanwhile, LNG export feedgas flows continued to remain elevated at 19.85 Bcf on Friday, compared to the 30-day moving average of 18.59 Bcf/d, according to the Bloomberg LNG Feedgas Model.

What else is happening in Commodities?

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Commodities

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Commodities

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