US Natural Gas Prices Slide on Lower Demand Forecast
US natural gas prices took a 2% hit on Tuesday as forecasts indicated lower demand for the week ahead, and market players factored in an imminent increase in output following the return to service of the Mountaineer XPress pipeline in West Virginia over the weekend.
The November futures contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange shed 6.3 cents, or 2%, from its Monday close to $3.043 per million British thermal units (mmBtu).
Average US gas output has been easing since September's start, slipping to 112.2 billion cubic feet per day in the Lower 48 states.
However, the daily average has dropped even further over the past week to 109.4 bcfd, partly due to a force majeure declared by TC Energy's Columbia Gas Transmission unit on September 24 for its Mountaineer XPress pipeline.