US natural gas futures pared some losses in midday trading Friday after falling sharply earlier in the session, pressured by signs of softer demand amid abundant supply.
The front-month Henry Hub contract and the continuous contract were both down 2.59% at $2.936 per million British thermal units.
In earlier trade, prices fell as low as $2.874/MMBtu.
LNG feedgas demand is expected to slow as Freeport LNG begins a weeks-long maintenance program, while weather forecasts point to cooling demand.
Gelber & Associates said in a Friday note that current indications suggest a sequential, single-train turnaround rather than a broad simultaneous outage at Freeport LNG.
Feedgas flows across the facility's primary supply points have eased to about 1 billion cubic feet per day to 1.35 Bcf/d, down from a recent baseline of roughly 1.7 Bcf/d. The maintenance work is expected to wind up at the end of next month.
On the weather front, NatGasWeather.com said Thursday that while the next seven days would be hot in the southern two-thirds of the US, the major population centers in the northern US would experience milder temperatures.
Meanwhile, supply levels remain elevated. The US Energy Information Administration reported a 61 Bcf storage injection for the week ended July 3, exceeding market expectations that ranged from 49 Bcf to 58 Bcf. The larger-than-expected build weighed heavily on futures prices Thursday.
The latest injection was also above the 53 Bcf build recorded during the same week last year and the five-year average increase of 51 Bcf, lifting inventories to 2.983 trillion cubic feet, or 6.6% above the five-year average.
US gas production in the Lower 48 remains strong but has eased slightly, averaging 109.7 Bcf/d so far in July, down from 110 Bcf/d in June, according to Trading Economics. July output remains below the record monthly high of 110.6 Bcf/d reached in December 2025.