US natural gas futures increased to $1.8/MMBtu on Friday, with a 1.8% weekly gain, driven by a surge in feedstock flows to LNG export plants. The amount of natural gas entering the seven US LNG export facilities, including Freeport, rose by approximately 17% on Thursday and preliminary data suggested a further increase to 11 bcf/d Friday, up from a 15-month low of 9.2 bcf/d on Tuesday. Also, US gas production has declined by about 10% this year as companies such as EQT and Chesapeake Energy delayed well completions and cut back drilling. Meanwhile, the latest EIA report showed US utilities injected 50 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas into storage last week, pushing gas inventories to 36.4% above the seasonal average. Looking ahead meteorologists expect normal weather patterns until April 26, followed by above-average temperatures from April 27 to May 4.
Natural gas decreased 0.57 USD/MMBtu or 24.40% since the beginning of 2024, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks the benchmark market for this commodity. Historically, Natural gas reached an all time high of 15.78 in December of 2005. Natural gas - data, forecasts, historical chart - was last updated on April 20 of 2024.
Natural gas decreased 0.57 USD/MMBtu or 24.40% since the beginning of 2024, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks the benchmark market for this commodity. Natural gas is expected to trade at 1.79 USD/MMBtu by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate it to trade at 2.03 in 12 months time.