Commodities
US Natural Gas Update: Futures Fall on Ample Supplies as Storage Build Meets Expectations
US natural gas futures trimmed some losses in after-hours trading Thursday after weekly storage data broadly met expectations, while strong production and a well-supplied market continued to weigh on prices.The front-month Henry Hub contract and the continuous contract both fell by 1.05% to $2.925 per million British thermal units.Futures briefly traded above $3.00/MMBtu in overnight trading before retreating ahead of the release of the US Energy Information Administration's weekly storage report.The EIA reported a 30 billion cubic feet injection into underground storage for the week ended Aug. 28, broadly in line with market expectations. Prices fell sharply following the report, reaching $2.885/MMBtu before partially recovering.The latest build was well below the 45 Bcf injection recorded during the same week last year and the five-year average of 37 Bcf, leaving the underlying storage picture relatively supportive despite the immediate price decline, Gelber & Associates said.Working gas in storage stood at 3,214 Bcf as of Aug. 28, down 50 Bcf, or 1.8%, from year-earlier levels and 160 Bcf, or 5.2%, above the five-year average, EIA said.Pinebrook Energy Advisors said the surplus to the five-year average had narrowed to 160 Bcf from 198 Bcf, while the deficit versus 2025 had widened to 50 Bcf from 12 Bcf as of July 31.The smaller-than-normal injection was attributed to elevated demand amid persistent high temperatures across the southern and central US.Weather is expected to remain supportive for demand through mid-September, NRG Energy said, with above-normal temperatures forecast across much of the Midwest, Plains and eastern half of the country. Heat intensity is expected to moderate gradually toward the latter part of the outlook.Total demand for Thursday declined 0.5 Bcf/d to 110.9 Bcf/d, driven by lower power burn demand despite broader late-summer warmth, NRG said.LNG feedgas demand also strengthened, led by higher flows to Sabine Pass and Golden Pass, Aegis Hedging said. Sabine Pass feedgas volumes increased by 306 million cubic feet per day to 4.19 Bcf/d, while Golden Pass flows rose by 290 MMcf/d to 566 MMcf/d. Overall LNG feedgas demand remained firm at around 19.1 Bcf/d, Gelber & Associates said.Average gas flows to the nine major US LNG export plants increased to 18.3 Bcf/d in early September from 17.2 Bcf/d in August, Trading Economics said, as Cheniere Energy's Corpus Christi facility and Freeport LNG in Texas returned to full operations following maintenance.US LNG exports rose 23% in the first half of 2026 from a year earlier, their fastest rate of growth since 2016, as new terminals and expansions increased export capacity, RBC Capital Markets analysts said.Golden Pass LNG has continued an uneven ramp-up that began in the spring, while the seventh and final train of the Corpus Christi Stage 3 project reached substantial completion Aug. 28.Those developments are expected to lift total US LNG export capacity to around 20 Bcf/d by the end of 2026, RBC said.Meanwhile, US natural gas production has rose to 111.8 Bcf/d, with expanded Permian takeaway capacity allowing more West Texas supply to reach downstream markets, Gelber & Associates said. NRG data showed dry gas production increased 0.9 Bcf/d to 110.2 Bcf/d Thursday.Trading Economics said Lower 48 production averaged a record 111.5 Bcf/d in August, up from 110.7 Bcf/d in July, and that rising output is keeping the market well supplied and limiting the upside potential for prices.