U.S. natgas extends gains on bigger than expected storage draw

ReutersMar 26, 2026 3:45 PM

By Sarah Qureshi and Anushree Mukherjee

March 26 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures extended gains on Thursday after a federal report showed energy companies pulled more gas than usual out of storage, signalling stronger demand.

Front-month gas futures for April delivery NGc1 on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 3.8 cents, or 1.3%, by 11:06 a.m. ET to $2.99 per million British thermal units. The contract hit its lowest since February 27 on Wednesday at $2.86.

Energy companies pulled 54 bcf of gas from stockpiles during the week ended March 20, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Thursday.

That was slightly more than the 44 bcf withdrawal forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll and an injection of 33 bcf in the same week a year ago and an average decline of 21 bcf in that week over the past five years (2021-2025).

Demand was stronger than forecast because of colder than expected weather, said Phil Flynn, senior analyst for Price Futures Group.

LSEG projected average gas demand in the Lower 48 states, including exports, at 110.9 bcfd this week and 110.7 bcfd next week.

Average gas output in the U.S. Lower 48 states rose to 109.6 billion cubic feet per day so far in March, up from 109.2 bcfd in February, LSEG data shows. That compares with a monthly record high of 110.6 bcfd in December 2025.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iran to "get serious" about a deal to end nearly four weeks of airstrikes, after its foreign minister said Tehran was reviewing the U.S. proposal but that there were no talks on winding down the war.

"I think Middle East influences are having some impact on U.S. natural gas prices, but not fundamentally," said Robert DiDona, president of Energy Ventures Analysis.

"There is some sympathy pain associated with the price swings given the combination of military action and potential ceasefire talks."

Ritterbusch and Associates said that gains in U.S. gas prices are being limited by the inability to crank up export activity but the huge loss of international supply because of the war in the Gulf will continue to provide background support, with U.S. export cacity expected to expand later in the year.

	Week ended Mar 20 Actual	Week ended Mar 13 Actual	Year ago Mar 20	Five-year average (2021-2025) Mar 20
U.S. weekly natgas storage change (bcf):	-54	+35	+33	-21
U.S. total natgas in storage (bcf):	1,829	1,883	1,739	1,815
U.S. total storage versus 5-year average	+0.8%	+2.6%


Global Gas Benchmark Futures ($ per mmBtu)	Current Day	Prior Day	This Month Last Year	Prior Year Average 2025	Five-Year Average (2021-2025)
Henry Hub NGc1	2.95	2.89	4.14	3.62	3.79
Title Transfer Facility (TTF) TRNLTTFMc1	34.07	17.24	13.21	11.94	18.51
Japan-Korea Marker (JKM) JKMc1	19.99	20.53	13.50	12.24	18.12


LSEG U.S. Global Forecast System (GFS) Heating, Cooling and Total Degree Days
Two-Week Total Forecast	Current Day	Prior Day	Prior Year	10-Year Norm	30-Year Norm
U.S. GFS Heating Degree Days (HDD)	169	188	193	232	243
U.S. GFS Cooling Degree Days (CDD)	40	38	15	15	10
U.S. GFS Total Degree Days (TDD)	209	226	208	247	253

LSEG U.S. Weekly GFS Supply and Demand Forecasts
	Prior Week	Current Week	Next Week	This Week Last Year	Five-Year (2021-2025) Average for Month
U.S. Supply (bcfd)
U.S. Lower 48 Dry Production	109.6	109.2	109.2	106.8	99.9
U.S. Imports from Canada	7.6	7.3	7.8	N/A	8.0
U.S. LNG Imports	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.1
Total U.S. Supply	117.2	116.5	117.0	N/A	108.0

U.S. Demand (bcfd)
U.S. Exports to Canada	3.4	3.9	3.9	N/A	3.4
U.S. Exports to Mexico	6.6	6.8	6.8	N/A	5.8
U.S. LNG Export Feedgas	18.5	18.8	19.0	16.1	13.2
U.S. Commercial	12.9	9.0	9.3	9.8	12.1
U.S. Residential	19.3	11.9	12.7	13.9	18.3
U.S. Power Plant	29.5	29.6	8.2	29.6	31.8
U.S. Industrial	24.6	23.1	23.2	23.6	24.5
U.S. Plant Fuel	5.4	5.4	5.4	5.4	5.4
U.S. Pipe Distribution	2.5	2.1	2.2	2.5	4.0
U.S. Vehicle Fuel	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.2
Total U.S. Consumption	94.5	81.3	81.0	84.9	96.3
Total U.S. Demand	122.9	110.9	110.7	N/A	118.7

N/A = Not Available

U.S. Northwest River Forecast Center (NWRFC) at The Dalles Dam (fiscal year ending September 30)	2026 Current Day % of Normal Forecast	2026 Prior Day % of Normal Forecast	2025 % of Normal Actual	2024 % of Normal Actual	2023 % of Normal Actual
Apr-Sep	101	100	76	74	83
Jan-Jul	104	103	78	76	77
Oct-Sep	106	106	80	77	76

U.S. weekly power generation percent by fuel - EIA
	Week ended Mar 27	Week ended Mar 20	2025	2024	2023
Wind	15	15	11	11	10
Solar	9	10	6	5	4
Hydro	8	8	6	6	6
Other	1	1	1	1	2
Petroleum	0	0	0	0	0
Natural Gas	34	35	40	42	41
Coal	14	13	18	16	17
Nuclear	19	18	18	19	19

SNL U.S. Natural Gas Next-Day Prices ($ per mmBtu)
Hub	Current Day	Prior Day	This Month Last Year	Prior Year Average 2025	Five-Year Average (2021-2025)
Henry Hub NG-W-HH-SNL	2.94	2.90	4.13	3.52	3.72
Transco Z6 New York NG-CG-NY-SNL	2.02	2.25	3.40	3.53	3.56
PG&E Citygate NG-CG-PGE-SNL	1.61	1.60	3.52	3.42	5.47
Eastern Gas (old Dominion South) NG-PCN-APP-SNL	2.06	2.23	3.29	2.79	2.96
Chicago Citygate NG-CG-CH-SNL	2.44	2.47	3.53	3.23	3.60
Algonquin Citygate NG-CG-BS-SNL	2.29	2.75	3.74	6.08	5.04
SoCal Citygate NG-SCL-CGT-SNL	2.19	2.19	3.53	3.60	5.71
Waha Hub NG-WAH-WTX-SNL	-3.06	-1.94	0.78	1.15	2.88
AECO NG-ASH-ALB-SNL	1.8	1.21	1.47	1.13	2.13

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) U.S. Power Next-Day Prices ($ per megawatt-hour)
Hub	Current Day	Prior Day	This Month Last Year	Prior Year Average 2025	Five-Year Average (2021-2025)
New England E-NEPLMHP-IDX	34.44	40.19	50.19	77.61	61.79
PJM West E-PJWHRTP-IX	42.45	50.55	48.35	60.23	54.47
Mid-Columbia (Mid C) W-MIDCP-IDX	14.44	4.94	34.51	44.81	68.96
Palo Verde W-PVP-IDX	21.71	24.71	23.31	34.82	59.94
South Path-15 (SP-15) W-SP15-IDX	12.12	10.09	16.63	28.44	53.02

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