(Reuters) – U.S. natural gas futures edged up about 1% to a 35-month high on near-record flows of gas to liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants and as extreme cold boosted heating demand and cash prices in several regions to their highest since last winter.
Limiting Thursday’s price increase for most of the trading day were a small weekly storage withdrawal, reduced forecasts for demand over the next two weeks, ample amounts of gas in inventory and lower prices in Europe and Asia.
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Front-month gas futures for January delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 6.8 cents, or 1.4%, to settle at $5.063, their highest close since December 27, 2022 for a second day in a row.
That kept the contract in technically overbought territory for a second day in a row and was the front-month’s first close over the $5 per mmBtu level of
psychological technical resistance since December 2022.
Analysts noted that Thursday could be the coldest day in December. Meteorologists expect temperatures to average about 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius) on Thursday.
In New England, extreme cold so far this week caused next-day gas prices to soar to $25 per mmBtu, their highest since February 2023. That compares with an average of around $5 so far this year and about $4 over the previous five years (2020-2024). Across the rest of North America, next-day gas prices jumped to their highest since February 2025 at the Henry Hub benchmark in Louisiana, in Pennsylvania, Chicago, New York and in Alberta in Canada.
SUPPLY AND DEMAND
Financial firm LSEG said average gas output in the Lower 48 states slid to 109.4 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in December, down from a monthly record high of 109.6 bcfd in November.
On a daily basis, output was on track to drop by about 3.1 bcfd to a three-week low of 108.2 bcfd on Thursday. It hit a daily record high of 111.3 bcfd on November 28. Most of the declines were in Pennsylvania, Texas and West Virginia.
LSEG projected average gas demand in the Lower 48 states, including exports, would fall from 144.5 bcfd this week to 142.6 bcfd next week. Those forecasts were lower than LSEG’s outlook on Wednesday.
Average gas flows to the eight large liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants operating in the U.S. have dropped to 18.0 bcfd so far this month, down from a monthly record high of 18.2 bcfd in November.
In LNG news, the Imsaikah LNG vessel remained anchored near Exxon Mobil /QatarEnergy’s 2.4 bcfd
GOLDEN PASS
LNG export plant under construction in Texas, according to LSEG data and analyst comments.
The ship is carrying LNG from Qatar that traders and analysts say will be used to cool equipment as part of the commissioning of the plant. The facility is expected to start producing LNG later this year or early next year.
The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on Thursday approved Golden Pass’ request to introduce “hazardous fluids into the boiloff gas and sendout compressors, the LNG storage tanks, and the LNG pumps and receive the LNG marine vessel (i.e. cooldown cargo).”
Around the world, gas prices fell to a 19-month low of about $9 per mmBtu at the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) in Europe on hopes peace talks in Ukraine could result in the lifting of sanctions against Moscow. That could allow Russia, the world’s second-biggest gas producer behind the U.S., to export more gas in the future.
Elsewhere, prices at the Japan-Korea Marker (JKM) benchmark in Asia slid to a three-month low near $11 per mmBtu.
Reporting by Scott DiSavino Editing by David Goodman and David Gregorio
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