US natgas futures soar 6% to five-week high after Iran hits Qatar LNG site

By Scott DiSavino

NEW YORK, March 19 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures jumped about 6% to a five-week high on Thursday on soaring global energy prices after Iranian missiles hit a liquefied natural gas facility in Qatar and other energy infrastructure across the Middle East as part of the Iran war.

QatarEnergy's CEO said Iran's attacks damaged facilities that produce 17% of the company’s LNG export capacity and that it will take three to five years to repair them.

Front-month gas futures for April delivery NGc1 on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 18.1 cents, or 5.9%, to $3.246 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), putting the contract on track for its highest close since February 6.

That price increase came despite forecasts for milder weather and less heating demand next week than previously expected, and an unusual mid-March weekly storage injection last week when the weather was mild and heating demand low.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said energy firms added 35 billion cubic feet of gas into storage during the week ended March 13.

That was slightly bigger than the 31-bcf build analysts forecast in a Reuters poll and compared with declines of one bcf during the same week last year and a five-year (2021-2025) average decrease of 29 bcf for the period. EIA/GAS NGAS/POLL

SUPPLY AND DEMAND

Average gas output in the U.S. Lower 48 states rose to 109.8 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in March, up from 109.2 bcfd in February, according to LSEG data. That compares with a monthly record high of 110.6 bcfd in December 2025.

Meteorologists forecast the weather would remain warmer than normal through April 3, keeping heating demand low during that time.

LSEG projected average gas demand in the Lower 48 states, including exports, would drop from 123.6 bcfd this week to 112.2 bcfd next week.

LNG EXPORTS

Average gas flows to the nine big U.S. LNG export plants slid to 18.4 bcfd so far in March, down from a record 18.7 bcfd in February.

The U.S. became the world's biggest LNG exporter in 2023, surpassing Australia and Qatar, as surging global prices fed demand for more low-cost U.S. gas. The past price spikes were due primarily to supply disruptions linked to Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

In recent weeks, gas prices around the world have surged again following repeated Iranian attacks on LNG export facilities in Qatar and elsewhere in the Middle East, which have removed about 20% of LNG supplies from the global market.

Prices in the U.S. have reacted to the Iran war, but not by nearly as much as elsewhere in the world. The U.S. produces all the gas it needs domestically and U.S. LNG companies were already operating at maximum capacity. As a result, no matter how high global gas prices go, the U.S. cannot export much more LNG.

Since the U.S. and Israel started bombing Iran on February 28, U.S. gas prices have jumped about 12% versus around 91% in Europe TRNLTTFMc1 and 88% in Asia JKMc1.

Around the world, gas was trading at 37-month highs near $21 per mmBtu at the Dutch Title Transfer Facility TRNLTTFMc1 benchmark in Europe and near $20 at the Japan-Korea Marker (JKM) JKMc1 benchmark in Asia. NG/EU