US natgas firm near one-month highs ahead of weekly inventory data
27/08/2026 14:57
By Sumit Saha
Aug 27 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures rose on Thursday, hovering near a one-month high hit in the last session, as forecasts for warmer-than-normal weather through early September boosted expectations for cooling demand, while the market awaited a federal weekly storage report due later in the day.
Front-month gas futures for September delivery NGc1 on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 5.1 cents, or 1.8%, to $2.893 per million British thermal units. In the previous session, the contract hit $2.911 per mmBtu, its highest level since July 24.
Futures for October NGc2 , which will soon be the front-month contract, were up 1.5% at $2.918 per mmBtu.
"We are getting a little bit of a heat rally and seeing the LNG export market pick up again, getting back to July levels after maintenance and reduced flows," said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst for Price Futures Group.
U.S. LNG producer Cheniere Energy's LNG.N Corpus Christi export plant in Texas appeared to be returning to full production on Wednesday after undergoing planned maintenance, as natural gas nominations to the facility rose to about 2.5 billion cubic feet per day, according to preliminary data from financial firm LSEG.
Meteorologists forecast mostly warmer-than-normal temperatures through September 11, as Cooling Degree Days rose to 210 on Thursday. CCDs, which measure energy demand to cool buildings, have been above normal with only around 114 this time last year.
Investors now await the U.S. Energy Information Administration's weekly gas storage report, which is due at 10:30 a.m. EDT.
U.S. energy firms likely added a below-normal 20 billion cubic feet of natural gas into storage last week, according to the average estimate in a Reuters poll. EIA/GAS
The estimate compares with an injection of 17 bcf during the same week a year ago and an average increase for that week of 33 bcf over the past five years (2021-2025). In the prior week ended August 14, energy firms added 16 bcf of gas into storage.
The storage report could be the next major driver for prices, with a larger-than-expected inventory build potentially pulling futures back toward the mid-$2.60 range, while a smaller-than-expected injection could extend the recent rally, added Flynn.
SUPPLY AND DEMAND
Financial group LSEG said average gas output in the U.S. Lower 48 states has reached 111.4 billion cubic feet per day so far in August, up from a monthly record high of 110.7 bcfd in July.
Average gas flows to the nine big U.S. LNG export plants stand at 17.1 bcfd so far in August, slightly down from 17.2 bcfd in July and a monthly record high of 17.4 bcfd in June.
LSEG projected average gas demand in the Lower 48 states, including exports, would remain steady at 112.2 bcfd from this week to next week.
Elsewhere, Benchmark Dutch and British wholesale gas prices declined on hopes for diplomacy efforts to be relaunched after the United States and Iran traded recriminations this week. NG/EU
Week Week Year Five-y
ended ended ago ear
Aug 21 Aug Aug averag
Foreca 14 21 e
st Actua (2021-
l 2025)
Aug 21
U.S. weekly natgas +20 +16 +17 +33
storage change (bcf):
U.S. total natgas in 3,189 3,169 3,214 3,017
storage (bcf):
U.S. total storage +5.7% +6.2%
versus 5-year average
Global Gas Benchmark Curren Prior This Prior Five-Ye
Futures ($ per mmBtu) t Day Day Month Year ar
Last Averag Average
Year e 2025 (2021-2
025)
Henry Hub NGc1 2.90 2.84 2.89 3.62 3.79
Title Transfer 23.11 22.08 11.13 11.94 18.51
Facility (TTF)
TRNLTTFMc1
Japan-Korea Marker 22.95 23.32 11.63 12.24 18.12
(JKM) JKMc1
LSEG U.S. Global
Forecast System (GFS)
Heating, Cooling and
Total Degree Days
Total Two-Week Curren Prior Prior 10-Yea 30-Year
Forecast t Day Day Year r Norm Norm
U.S. GFS Heating 8 6 18 9 10
Degree Days (HDD)
U.S. GFS Cooling 210 209 114 147 135
Degree Days (CDD)
U.S. GFS Total Degree 218 215 132 156 145
Days (TDD)
LSEG U.S. Weekly GFS
Supply and Demand
Forecasts
Prior Curre Next This Five-Ye
Week nt Week Week ar
Week Last (2021-2
Year 025)
Average
for
Month
U.S. Supply (bcfd)
U.S. Lower 48 Dry 112.1 111.0 110.8 N/A 101.7
Production
U.S. Imports from 6.9 6.6 7.3 N/A 7.7
Canada
U.S. LNG Imports 0.0 0.0 0.0 N/A 0.0
Total U.S. Supply 118.9 117.6 118.2 N/A 109.4
U.S. Demand (bcfd)
U.S. Exports to Canada 2.5 2.6 2.6 N/A 2.3
U.S. Exports to Mexico 7.5 7.8 7.6 N/A 6.7
U.S. LNG Export 17.2 17.0 18.1 N/A 11.4
Feedgas
U.S. Commercial 4.6 4.6 4.7 N/A 4.7
U.S. Residential 3.4 3.5 3.4 N/A 3.4
U.S. Power Plant 49.5 47.1 46.2 N/A 45.3
U.S. Industrial 21.8 21.8 21.9 N/A 21.1
U.S. Plant Fuel 5.5 5.5 5.5 N/A 5.3
U.S. Pipe Distribution 2.3 2.3 2.2 N/A 3.2
U.S. Vehicle Fuel 0.1 0.1 0.1 N/A 0.2
Total U.S. Consumption 87.3 84.9 84.0 N/A 83.2
Total U.S. Demand 114.5 112.3 112.3 N/A 103.6
N/A = Not Available
U.S. Northwest River 2026 2026 2025 2024 2023
Forecast Center Curren Prio % of % of % of
(NWRFC) at The Dalles t Day r Day Norma Normal Normal
Dam (fiscal year % of % of l Actual Actual
ending September 30) Normal Norma Actua
Foreca l l
st Forec
ast
Apr-Sep 82 82 76 74 83
Jan-Jul 90 90 78 76 77
Oct-Sep 93 93 80 77 76
U.S. weekly power
generation percent by
fuel - EIA
Week Week 2025 2024 2023
ended ended
Aug 28 Aug
21
Wind 7 6 11 11 10
Solar 9 8 6 5 4
Hydro 4 4 6 6 6
Other 1 1 1 1 2
Petroleum 0 0 0 0 0
Natural Gas 45 45 40 42 41
Coal 17 18 18 16 17
Nuclear 17 16 18 19 19
SNL U.S. Natural Gas
Next-Day Prices ($ per
mmBtu)
Hub Curren Prior This Prior Five-Ye
t Day Day Month Year ar
Last Averag Average
Year e 2025 (2021-2
025)
Henry Hub 2.81 2.70 2.91 3.52 3.72
NG-W-HH-SNL
Transco Z6 New York 1.66 1.40 2.23 3.53 3.56
NG-CG-NY-SNL
PG&E Citygate 3.74 3.76 3.23 3.42 5.47
NG-CG-PGE-SNL
Eastern Gas (formerly 1.51 1.39 2.06 2.79 2.96
Dominion South)
NG-PCN-APP-SNL
Chicago Citygate 2.56 2.47 2.63 3.23 3.60
NG-CG-CH-SNL
Algonquin Citygate 2.12 1.74 2.55 6.08 5.04
NG-CG-BS-SNL
SoCal Citygate 4.76 4.57 3.41 3.60 5.71
NG-SCL-CGT-SNL
Waha Hub 2.07 1.89 1.57 1.03 2.88
NG-WAH-WTX-SNL
AECO NG-ASH-ALB-SNL 1.30 1.21 0.51 1.13 2.13
Intercontinental
Exchange (ICE)
U.S. Power Next-Day
Prices ($ per
megawatt-hour)
Hub Curren Prior This Prior Five-Ye
t Day Day Month Year ar
Last Averag Average
Year e 2025 (2021-2
025)
New England 55.60 49.89 59.26 77.12 61.67
E-NEPLMHP-IDX
PJM West 62.87 51.84 46.80 60.23 54.47
E-PJWHRTP-IX
Mid-Columbia (Mid C) 62.83 57.67 50.02 44.81 68.96
W-MIDCP-IDX
Palo Verde W-PVP-IDX 100.25 97.82 51.19 34.82 59.94
South Path-15 (SP-15) 78.59 78.96 38.33 28.44 53.02
W-SP15-IDX
(Reporting by Sumit Saha in Bengaluru; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama )
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