HomeNewsU.S. natgas prices climb 3% to 1-week high on forecasts for hotter weather, more cooling demand

U.S. natgas prices climb 3% to 1-week high on forecasts for hotter weather, more cooling demand

6/16/2025
  • Meteorologists forecast hotter-than-normal weather through July 1
  • Triple-digit storage builds expected for record 8th week
  • LNG export feedgas down in May, June after record high in April

U.S. natural gas futures climbed about 3% to a one-week high on Monday on forecasts for hotter weather and higher cooling demand over the next two weeks than previously expected, which should boost the amount of gas electric generators burn to produce power as homes and businesses crank up air conditioners.

Gas futures for July delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange were up 9.5 cents, or 2.9%, to $3.676 per million British thermal units (MMBtu), putting the contract on track for its highest close since June 6.

That price increase occurred despite analyst expectations that energy firms set another storage record during the week of June 13 with an eighth triple-digit injection.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) will release the June 13 storage report a day early on Wednesday due to the U.S. Juneteenth holiday on Thursday.

During the week ended June 6, energy firms added 100 Bft3 or more of gas into storage for seven weeks in a row, tying the seven-week triple-digit injection record set in June 2014, according to federal energy data going back to 2010.

So far this year, energy firms have pulled a monthly record high of 1.013 Tft3of gas out of storage during a brutally cold January and added a monthly record high of 497 Bft3 into storage in May when mild weather kept both heating and cooling demand low, according to federal energy data. The prior all-time monthly injection high was 494 Bft3 in May 2015.

Supply and demand. Financial firm LSEG said average gas output in the Lower 48 U.S. states has held at 105.2 Bft3d so far in June, the same as in May. That figure was down from the monthly record high of 106.3 Bft3d in March due primarily to normal spring maintenance.

Meteorologists forecast weather across the Lower 48 states will remain mostly warmer than normal through at least July 1.

With hotter summer weather coming, LSEG forecast average gas demand in the Lower 48, including exports, would rise from 99.8 Bft3d this week to 102.7 Bft3d next week. Those forecasts were higher than LSEG's outlook on Friday.

The average amount of gas flowing to the eight big U.S. LNG export plants has fallen to 14.1 Bft3d so far in June, down from 15.0 Bft3d in May and a monthly record high of 16 Bft3d in April.

Traders said LNG feedgas reductions since April were primarily due to normal spring maintenance, including work at Cameron LNG's 2-Bft3d plant in Louisiana and Cheniere Energy's 4.5-Bft3d Sabine Pass facility in Louisiana and 3.9-Bft3d Corpus Christi plant in Texas, and short, unplanned unit outages at Freeport LNG's 2.1-Bft3d plant in Texas on May 6, May 23, May 28 and June 3.

Energy traders said they expect maintenance to continue through late-June at Sabine, which has been pulling about 3 Bft3d of gas since the end of May. That figure compares with average feedgas of 4.5 Bft3d during the month of May.   

The U.S. became the world's biggest LNG supplier in 2023, surpassing Australia and Qatar, as surging global prices fed demand for more exports, due in part to supply disruptions and sanctions linked to Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Gas was trading around a 10-week high of $13 per MMBtu at the Dutch Title Transfer Facility benchmark in Europe and a 12-week high of $13 at the Japan Korea Marker benchmark in Asia.

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