US NatGas Prices Soar on Cooler Weather and Lower Output
US natural gas futures rose to an 11-week high on Wednesday due to forecasts of cooler weather and lower output. The front-month contract for October delivery climbed 7.6 cents, or 2.6%, to $3.041 per million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The price increase was attributed to the expectation of higher heating demand in the coming weeks, as well as a decline in daily output and an uptick in liquefied natural gas exports so far this month.
According to LSEG, average gas output in the US Lower 48 states rose to 112.9 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in September, but was on track to drop to an 11-week low of 109.8 bcfd on Wednesday due to declines in Louisiana and Pennsylvania.
LNG exports, however, saw a slight increase with average gas flows to the nine big US LNG export plants rising to 18.0 bcfd so far in September, up from 17.2 bcfd in August.