US natgas futures ease 1% on lower demand forecasts
By Scott DiSavino
NEW YORK, June 23 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures eased about 1% on Tuesday on ample amounts of gas in storage and forecasts for less demand over the next two weeks than previously expected.
Front-month gas futures for July delivery NGc1 on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 3.3 cents, or 1.0%, to $3.22 per million British thermal units (mmBtu). On Monday, the contract closed at its highest since June 4.
Financial group LSEG said average gas output in the U.S. Lower 48 states slid to 109.5 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in June, down from 109.7 bcfd in May and a monthly record high of 110.6 bcfd in December 2025.
STOCKPILES AMPLE
Analysts said mostly mild weather during the spring allowed energy firms to stockpile more gas than usual. They projected the amount of gas in inventories remained around 5.8% above normal during the week ended June 19, the same as during the previous week. The federal storage report for last week comes out on Thursday. EIA/GAS NGAS/POLL
Meteorologists forecast the weather will remain mostly warmer than normal through July 8, which should boost the amount of gas power generators burn to keep air conditioners humming. About 40% of U.S. power generation comes from gas-fired plants.
LSEG projected average gas demand in the Lower 48 states, including exports, would rise from 101.8 bcfd this week to 105.7 bcfd next week. Those forecasts were lower than LSEG's outlook on Monday.
Average gas flows to the nine big U.S. LNG export plants rose to 17.2 bcfd so far in June, up from 17.1 bcfd in May as liquefaction trains, including at Freeport LNG, exited outages.
That compares with a monthly record high of 18.8 bcfd in April.
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Week ended Jun 19 Forecast |
Week ended Jun 12 Actual |
Year ago Jun 19 |
Five-year average (2021-2025) Jun 19 |
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U.S. weekly natgas storage change (bcf): |
+80 |
+73 |
+96 |
+75 |
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U.S. total natgas in storage (bcf): |
2,839 |
2,759 |
2,884 |
2,683 |
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U.S. total storage versus 5-year average |
+5.8% |
+5.8% |
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Global Gas Benchmark Futures ($ per mmBtu) |
Current Day |
Prior Day |
This Month Last Year |
Prior Year Average 2025 |
Five-Year Average (2021-2025) |
Henry Hub NGc1 |
3.21 |
3.25 |
3.64 |
3.62 |
3.79 |
Title Transfer Facility (TTF) TRNLTTFMc1 |
13.86 |
14.03 |
12.38 |
11.94 |
18.51 |
Japan-Korea Marker (JKM) JKMc1 |
15.86 |
15.32 |
13.05 |
12.24 |
18.12 |
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LSEG U.S. Global Forecast System (GFS) Heating, Cooling and Total Degree Days |
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Two-Week Total Forecast |
Current Day |
Prior Day |
Prior Year |
10-Year Norm |
30-Year Norm |
U.S. GFS Heating Degree Days (HDD) |
4 |
4 |
6 |
6 |
7 |
U.S. GFS Cooling Degree Days (CDD) |
218 |
213 |
211 |
190 |
177 |
U.S. GFS Total Degree Days (TDD) |
222 |
217 |
217 |
196 |
184 |
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LSEG U.S. Weekly GFS Supply and Demand Forecasts |
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Prior Week |
Current Week |
Next Week |
This Week Last Year |
Five-Year (2021-2025) Average for Month |
U.S. Supply (bcfd) |
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U.S. Lower 48 Dry Production |
110.2 |
109.6 |
109.8 |
107.2 |
100.6 |
U.S. Imports from Canada |
7.1 |
6.9 |
6.6 |
N/A |
7.7 |
U.S. LNG Imports |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
Total U.S. Supply |
117.4 |
116.4 |
116.4 |
N/A |
108.3 |
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U.S. Demand (bcfd) |
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U.S. Exports to Canada |
2.3 |
2.1 |
2.1 |
N/A |
2.3 |
U.S. Exports to Mexico |
7.5 |
7.4 |
7.4 |
N/A |
6.7 |
U.S. LNG Export Feedgas |
17.7 |
17.6 |
17.9 |
14.6 |
12.0 |
U.S. Commercial |
4.3 |
4.3 |
4.3 |
4.4 |
5.0 |
U.S. Residential |
3.5 |
3.6 |
3.6 |
3.8 |
4.2 |
U.S. Power Plant |
39.2 |
37.6 |
41.1 |
44.7 |
39.1 |
U.S. Industrial |
21.7 |
21.6 |
21.7 |
22.3 |
21.8 |
U.S. Plant Fuel |
5.4 |
5.4 |
5.4 |
5.4 |
5.2 |
U.S. Pipe Distribution |
2.0 |
2.0 |
2.1 |
2.0 |
3.0 |
U.S. Vehicle Fuel |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.2 |
Total U.S. Consumption |
76.4 |
74.7 |
78.4 |
82.7 |
78.5 |
Total U.S. Demand |
103.9 |
101.8 |
105.7 |
N/A |
99.5 |
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N/A = Not Available |
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U.S. Northwest River Forecast Center (NWRFC) at The Dalles Dam (fiscal year ending September 30) |
2026 Current Day % of Normal Forecast |
2026 Prior Day % of Normal Forecast |
2025 % of Normal Actual |
2024 % of Normal Actual |
2023 % of Normal Actual |
Apr-Sep |
85 |
84 |
76 |
74 |
83 |
Jan-Jul |
90 |
89 |
78 |
76 |
77 |
Oct-Sep |
95 |
94 |
80 |
77 |
76 |
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U.S. weekly power generation percent by fuel - EIA |
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Week ended June 26 |
Week ended June 19 |
2025 |
2024 |
2023 |
Wind |
11 |
11 |
11 |
11 |
10 |
Solar |
9 |
9 |
6 |
5 |
4 |
Hydro |
5 |
6 |
6 |
6 |
6 |
Other |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
Petroleum |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Natural Gas |
38 |
40 |
40 |
42 |
41 |
Coal |
15 |
15 |
18 |
16 |
17 |
Nuclear |
20 |
19 |
18 |
19 |
19 |
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SNL U.S. Natural Gas Next-Day Prices ($ per mmBtu) |
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Hub |
Current Day |
Prior Day |
This Month Last Year |
Prior Year Average 2025 |
Five-Year Average (2021-2025) |
Henry Hub NG-W-HH-SNL |
3.16 |
3.08 |
3.12 |
3.52 |
3.72 |
Transco Z6 New York NG-CG-NY-SNL |
2.40 |
2.18 |
2.34 |
3.53 |
3.56 |
PG&E Citygate NG-CG-PGE-SNL |
1.89 |
1.985 |
3.12 |
3.42 |
5.47 |
Eastern Gas (formerly Dominion South) NG-PCN-APP-SNL |
2.32 |
2.12 |
2.17 |
2.79 |
2.96 |
Chicago Citygate NG-CG-CH-SNL |
2.76 |
2.71 |
2.76 |
3.23 |
3.60 |
Algonquin Citygate NG-CG-BS-SNL |
2.59 |
2.26 |
2.97 |
6.08 |
5.04 |
SoCal Citygate NG-SCL-CGT-SNL |
3.18 |
3.61 |
3.59 |
3.60 |
5.71 |
Waha Hub NG-WAH-WTX-SNL |
1.43 |
1.95 |
1.75 |
1.15 |
2.88 |
AECO NG-ASH-ALB-SNL |
1.16 |
1.20 |
0.64 |
1.13 |
2.13 |
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Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) U.S. Power Next-Day Prices ($ per megawatt-hour) |
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Hub |
Current Day |
Prior Day |
This Month Last Year |
Prior Year Average 2025 |
Five-Year Average (2021-2025) |
New England E-NEPLMHP-IDX |
53.37 |
46.00 |
60.18 |
77.61 |
61.79 |
PJM West E-PJWHRTP-IX |
47.56 |
53.86 |
70.06 |
60.23 |
54.47 |
Mid-Columbia (Mid C) W-MIDCP-IDX |
31.24 |
30.15 |
42.59 |
44.81 |
68.96 |
Palo Verde W-PVP-IDX |
40.00 |
28.50 |
38.53 |
34.82 |
59.94 |
South Path-15 (SP-15) W-SP15-IDX |
18.84 |
16.15 |
22.51 |
28.44 |
53.02 |