Natural Gas Prices Rise on Supportive Demand Trends Amid Plentiful Supply
Natural gas futures rose by about 3% last week to settle at $2.975 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) due to supportive demand trends.
The unusually warm weather across much of the central and midwestern United States kept demand for electricity and air conditioning strong, while activity at liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants improved as maintenance work ended at several facilities.
Total working gas in storage was 3,214 billion cubic feet, 5% above the five-year average but 2% below the year-ago level. The recent increase in gas kept in storage was smaller than normal, which helped prices.
However, strong U.S. production prevented prices from rising sharply, and plentiful supply remained an important concern despite improving demand conditions.