US natural gas falls for 5th straight session, hits lowest since Oct 2024

Traders may also have more readily unwound long positions as forecasts later in April show weeks of mild weather despite a slight cold shift.

US natural gas futures ended lower for a fifth consecutive session, erasing earlier gains as traders weighed plunging oil prices against mixed weather outlooks. Traders may also have more readily unwound long positions as forecasts later in April show weeks of mild weather despite a slight cold shift.

The Henry Hub, a natural gas pipeline distribution hub, in Erath, Louisiana, US, on Monday, April 13, 2026. US natural gas futures ended down for the fourth consecutive session, erasing earlier gains as traders weighed forecasts for mild weather and a growing surplus of domestic stockpiles. (Bloomberg)

Analysts also expect a growing storage surplus relative to the five-year average in the coming weeks.

• Futures for May delivery settled -2.8c, or -1.1%, to $2.599/mmbtu on Nymex
  • Lowest front-month settlement since Oct. 29, 2024

Weather:

• Below-average temperatures in the northeast from April 19-23: Commodity Weather Group
  • Normal seasonal weather was expected across most of the US from April 19-28
• See WHUT for a map of latest 6-10 day weather forecast: NOAA
• Click here for two-week temperature forecasts for the U.S.

Daily BNEF Gas Data:

• Lower-48 dry gas production on Tuesday ~111.4 bcf/day, or 2.7% y/y
  • Lowest since Feb. 3, when producers were recovering from historic late January storm
• Lower-48 total gas demand on Tuesday ~66.9 bcf/day, or -1.5% y/y
• Dry gas exports to Mexico on Tuesday ~6.7 bcf/day, or -5.6% w/w
• Estimated gas flows to LNG export terminals on Tuesday ~19.6 bcf/day, or 3.4% w/w
  • US LNG exports for the week ended April 12 fell to an eight-week low