Natural Gas

Today in Energy

Recent Today in Energy analysis of natural gas markets is available on the EIA website.

Market Highlights:

Prices

• Henry Hub spot price: The Henry Hub spot price fell 5 cents from $3.13 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) last Wednesday to $3.08/MMBtu yesterday.
• Henry Hub futures price: The July 2025 NYMEX contract expired on June 26 at $3.261/MMBtu. The price of the August 2025 NYMEX contract decreased 27 cents, from $3.488/MMBtu last Wednesday to $3.214/MMBtu yesterday. The price of the 12-month strip averaging August 2025 through July 2026 futures contracts declined 16 cents to $3.881/MMBtu.
• Select regional spot prices: Natural gas spot prices were mixed this report week (Wednesday, July 2, to Wednesday, July 9). Price changes ranged from a decrease of 71 cents at FGT Citygate to an increase of $1.52 at Northwest Sumas.
• Prices on the West Coast rose this week. The price at Northwest Sumas on the Canada-Washington border, the main pricing point for natural gas in the Pacific Northwest, rose $1.52 from $0.49/MMBtu last Wednesday to $2.01/MMBtu yesterday. The Northwest Pipeline system reported an outage at the Meacham compressor station that lasted through July 7, reducing natural gas transportation capacity downstream of Northwest Sumas. The price at Northwest Sumas rose $1.38 between July 7 and July 8, as average temperatures rose 4°F to 69°F in the Pacific Northwest. The price at PG&E Citygate in Northern California rose 54 cents, up from $2.93/MMBtu last Wednesday to $3.47/MMBtu yesterday. The price at SoCal Citygate in Southern California increased 56 cents from $3.71/MMBtu last Wednesday to $4.27/MMBtu yesterday. Maintenance activities affecting the El Paso Natural Gas pipeline system decreased natural gas transportation capacity into California. Average temperatures in the Western region fell 7°F from July 2 to an intraweek low of 70°F on July 5 before rising to end the report week at 78°F. Natural gas consumption in the electric power sector in the Western region rose 36% by Wednesday from the intraweek low on July 4, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights.

Daily spot prices by region are available on the EIA website.

• International futures prices: International natural gas futures price changes were mixed this report week. According to Bloomberg Finance, L.P., weekly average front-month futures prices for liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes in East Asia decreased 6 cents to a weekly average of $13.12/MMBtu. Natural gas futures for delivery at the Title Transfer Facility (TTF) in the Netherlands increased 13 cents to a weekly average of $11.67/MMBtu. In the same week last year (week ending July 10, 2024), the prices were $12.40/MMBtu in East Asia and $10.12/MMBtu at TTF.
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Supply and Demand

• Supply: According to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights, the average total supply of natural gas fell by 0.6% (0.7 billion cubic feet per day [Bcf/d]) compared with the previous report week. Dry natural gas production decreased by 0.6% (0.6 Bcf/d) to average 106.2 Bcf/d, and average net imports from Canada decreased by 1.4% (0.1 Bcf/d) from last week.
• Demand: Total U.S. consumption of natural gas rose by 0.8% (0.6 Bcf/d) compared with the previous report week, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights. Natural gas consumed for power generation rose by 1.0% (0.4 Bcf/d) week over week. Consumption in the residential and commercial sectors increased by 2.3% (0.2 Bcf/d), while consumption in the industrial sector decreased by 0.2% (0.1 Bcf/d) week over week. Natural gas exports to Mexico increased 0.7% (less than 0.1 Bcf/d). Natural gas deliveries to U.S. LNG export facilities (LNG pipeline receipts) averaged 16.0 Bcf/d, or 0.2 Bcf/d higher than last week.

Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)

• Pipeline receipts: Average natural gas deliveries to U.S. LNG export terminals rose 1.0% (0.2 Bcf/d) to end at 16.0 Bcf/d this week, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights. Natural gas deliveries to terminals in South Louisiana increased 2.6% (0.3 Bcf/d) to 10.6 Bcf/d, while natural gas deliveries to terminals in South Texas decreased 1.7% (0.1 Bcf/d), averaging 4.3 Bcf/d. Natural gas deliveries to terminals outside the Gulf Coast were essentially unchanged at 1.2 Bcf/d this week.
• Vessels departing U.S. ports: Twenty-seven LNG vessels with a combined LNG-carrying capacity of 104 Bcf departed the United States between July 3 and July 9, according to shipping data provided by Bloomberg Finance, L.P.: eight tankers from Sabine Pass; four each from Corpus Christi, Freeport, and Plaquemines; three from Cameron; two from Calcasieu Pass; and one each from Cove Point and Elba Island.

Rig Count

• According to Baker Hughes, for the week ending Tuesday, July 1, the natural gas rig count fell by 1 rig to 108 rigs. Haynesville added one rig, and one rig was added among unidentified producing regions. The Arkoma Woodford, the Barnett, and the Marcellus each dropped one rig. The number of oil-directed rigs fell by 7 rigs to 425 rigs, the 10th straight week of declines. The Barnett, Fayetteville, and Granite Wash each added one rig. The Permian dropped five rigs, Cana Woodford and Ardmore Woodford each dropped one rig, and three rigs were dropped among unidentified producing regions. The total rig count, which includes 6 miscellaneous rigs, now stands at 539 rigs, 46 fewer rigs than last year at this time.

Storage

• Net injections into storage totaled 53 Bcf for the week ending July 4, compared with the five-year (2020–24) average net injections of 53 Bcf and last year's net injections of 61 Bcf during the same week. Working natural gas stocks totaled 3,006 Bcf, which is 173 Bcf (6%) more than the five-year average and 184 Bcf (6%) lower than last year at this time.
• According to The Desk survey of natural gas analysts, estimates of the weekly net change to working natural gas stocks ranged from net injections of 51 Bcf to 68 Bcf, with a median estimate of 60 Bcf.
• The average rate of injections into storage is 24% higher than the five-year average so far in the refill season (April through October). If the rate of injections into storage matched the five-year average of 7.7 Bcf/d for the remainder of the refill season, the total inventory would be 3,926 Bcf on October 31, which is 173 Bcf higher than the five-year average of 3,753 Bcf for that time of year.

See also:

• Natural Gas Analysis Reports
• Short-Term Energy Outlook