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US Natural Gas Update: Midday Futures Climb into Positive Territory

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US natural gas futures erased early losses and turned higher in midday trading on Monday despite bearish weather forecasts and progress in peace negotiations in the Middle East.

The front-month Henry Hub contract and the continuous contract were both up 0.51% at $3.136 per million British thermal units.

Prices had earlier fallen to their lowest level in nearly three weeks, pressured by a broad decline across global energy markets following a peace agreement reached between the US and Iran over the weekend.

US President Donald Trump said Washington would lift its naval blockade of Iranian ports and that the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit route for roughly one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies, would reopen once the agreement is formally signed on June 19.

Bearish weather forecasts also weighed on prices in early trading, according to Gary Cunningham of Tradition Energy.

However, longer-term fundamentals provided some support. Aegis Hedging said summer gas prices continued to find backing from expectations that weather conditions in 2026 could resemble those seen in 2023, when wind generation was weak, and temperatures were elevated.

The firm added that the Electric Reliability Council of Texas has forecast a potential peak electricity demand of 90.4 gigawatts this summer, nearly 5 GW above the current record.

Cunningham also pointed to the potential impact of lower crude prices on associated gas production.

"Production outlooks for associated gas will be trimmed lower as oil prices fall to ~$80/bbl, which will give us some support from a freefall," Cunningham said. "But after a slim inject report this week we could see a couple of bearish numbers push our storage surplus back to a healthy level."

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