US natural gas prices held steady at approximately $2.90 per MMBtu, lingering near their lowest point in a week. The market remained under pressure due to unseasonably mild weather across much of the country and a rebound in domestic production.
Forecasters predict that warmer-than-normal temperatures will persist through the first half of November, which is expected to keep demand for heating relatively low. At the same time, natural gas output in the Lower 48 states averaged around 113.3 billion cubic feet per day over the past week, boosting supply levels.
Despite these bearish factors, strong liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports and tightening storage levels provided some support. Average feedgas flows to the nine major US LNG export terminals increased to 18.5 billion cubic feet per day in October, up from 17.9 billion cubic feet per day in September.
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a larger-than-expected rise in inventories for the week ended October 23, with total stocks now roughly 1% above the five-year average and 3.8% below year-ago levels.