February Nymex natural gas (NGG26) on Monday closed up +0.240 (+7.57%),
Feb nat-gas prices rallied sharply on Monday as forecasts for colder US weather spurred short covering in nat-gas futures. Forecaster Atmospheric G2 said Monday that forecasts shifted colder across the eastern half of the US for January 17-21, potentially boosting nat-gas heating demand. Also, the weather outlook trended colder in the northern half of the country for January 22-26.
Last Friday, nat-gas prices sank to a 2.5-month nearest-futures low after forecasts of warmer temperatures across the US bolstered the outlook for reduced nat-gas heating demand, allowing storage levels to rebuild.
Higher US nat-gas production is bearish for prices. The EIA on December 9 raised its forecast for 2025 US nat-gas production to 107.74 bcf/day from its November estimate of 107.70 bcf/day. US nat-gas production is currently near a record high, with active US nat-gas rigs recently posting a 2-year high.
US (lower-48) dry gas production on Monday was 113.8 bcf/day (+8.8% y/y), according to BNEF. Lower-48 state gas demand on Monday was 101.1 bcf/day (-6.1% y/y), according to BNEF. Estimated LNG net flows to US LNG export terminals on Monday were 20.1 bcf/day (+3.0% w/w), according to BNEF.
As a supportive factor for gas prices, the Edison Electric Institute reported last Wednesday that US (lower-48) electricity output in the week ended January 3 rose +6.7% y/y to 82,732 GWh (gigawatt hours), and US electricity output in the 52-week period ending January 3 rose +3.0% y/y to 4,306,606 GWh.
Last Thursday's weekly EIA report was bullish for nat-gas prices, as nat-gas inventories for the week ended January 2 fell by -119 bcf, a larger draw than the market consensus of -13 bcf and much larger than the 5-year weekly average draw of -92 bcf. As of January 2, nat-gas inventories were down -3.5% y/y and were +1.0% above their 5-year seasonal average, signaling ample nat-gas supplies. As of January 10, gas storage in Europe was 55% full, compared to the 5-year seasonal average of 70% full for this time of year.
Baker Hughes reported last Friday that the number of active US nat-gas drilling rigs in the week ending January 9 fell by -1 to 124 rigs, modestly below the 2.25-year high of 130 set on November 28. In the past year, the number of gas rigs has risen from the 4.5-year low of 94 rigs reported in September 2024.
