HomeNewsU.S. natgas prices climb 2% on rising flows to LNG export plants

U.S. natgas prices climb 2% on rising flows to LNG export plants

7/10/2025
  • Gas stockpiles 6% more than normal levels and rising
  • Output on track for record high in July

U.S. natural gas futures climbed about 2% on Thursday on rising gas flows to liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants and forecasts for hotter-than-normal weather and more demand over the next two weeks than previously expected.

Front-month gas futures for August delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) were up 4.7 cents, or 1.5%, to $3.261 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) at 8:54 a.m. EDT (1254 GMT). On Wednesday, the contract closed at its lowest price since May 28.

A federal storage report on Thursday is expected to show energy firms injected more gas into storage than normal last week for the 11th time in 12 weeks due to near-record production and low LNG export feedgas over the past few months.

Analysts forecast energy firms added 58 Bft3 of gas into storage during the week ended July 4.

That compares with an increase of 61 Bft3 during the same week last year and an average of 53 Bft3 over the past five years (2020–2024).

If correct, that build would leave gas stockpiles about 6% above the five-year normal for this time of year.

Supply and demand. Financial firm LSEG said average gas output in the Lower 48 U.S. states has risen to 106.7 Bft3d so far in July, up from a monthly record high of 106.4 Bft3d in June.

But on a daily basis, output has fallen by around 2.4 Bft3d over six days to a four-week low of 105.1 Bft3d on Wednesday. That daily output decline, however, was smaller than previously expected.

Meteorologists forecast weather across the Lower 48 states will remain mostly warmer than normal through at least July 25.

With hotter weather expected, LSEG forecast average gas demand in the Lower 48, including exports, would rise from 107.3 Bft3d this week to 108.8 Bft3d next week. Those forecasts were higher than LSEG's outlook on Wednesday.

The average amount of gas flowing to the eight big U.S. LNG export plants has risen to 15.6 Bft3d so far in July as liquefaction units at some plants slowly exited maintenance reductions and unexpected outages. That was up from 14.3 Bft3d in June and 15 Bft3d in May, but remained below the monthly record high of 16 Bft3d in April.

On a daily basis, however, LNG export feedgas was on track to rise to a 10-week high of 16 Bft3d on Thursday with flows to U.S. energy company Cheniere Energy's 3.9-Bft3d Corpus Christi plant in operation and under construction in Texas expected to rise from 1.5 Bft3d on Wednesday to 2.2 Bft3d on Thursday, according to LSEG data.

The U.S. became the world's biggest LNG supplier in 2023, surpassing Australia and Qatar, as surging global prices fed demand for more exports, due in part to supply disruptions and sanctions linked to Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Gas was trading around $12 per MMBtu at the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) benchmark in Europe and $13 at the Japan Korea Marker (JKM) benchmark in Asia.

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