US natural gas futures steady as market awaits storage report

ReutersApr 2, 2026 1:49 PM

Analyst expects some short covering
Trump's speech drives oil prices higher
Analysts expect US data to show higher inventories

By Anjana Anil and Sarah Qureshi

April 2 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures held steady on Thursday, as support from rises in global energy prices and short covering offset pressure from the prospect of milder weather and expectations of lower demand, while the market awaited a weekly storage report.

Front-month gas futures NGc1 for May delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange traded flat at $2.82 per million British thermal units at 9:12 a.m. EST. The contract had dropped to its lowest level since February 26 in the previous session.

"The overall outlook is very bearish for natural gas, as we're getting in the shoulder season. The production continues to be at very high levels, keeping downward pressure on gas," said Phil Flynn, senior analyst for Price Futures Group.

He said traders were leaning towards short covering, which might correct the downward move but did not indicate a change in the trend.

FEARS OF PROLONGED OIL SUPPLY DISRUPTION

Oil prices climbed sharply after President Donald Trump said the U.S. would continue attacks on Iran, stoking fears of prolonged disruptions to oil supply. O/R

Benchmark Dutch and British wholesale gas prices also rose early on Thursday. NG/EU

Traders await the release of the U.S. Energy Information Administration's weekly gas storage report due at 10.30 a.m. ET. EIA/GAS

U.S. energy firms likely added 34 billion cubic feet of natural gas into storage last week, according to the average estimate in a Reuters poll released on Wednesday.

If correct, the forecast for the week ended March 27 would increase stockpiles to 1.863 trillion cubic feet. That would be about 5.3% above the same week a year ago and about 2.9% over the five-year average for the week. EIA/GAS

March is part of the winter season when utilities usually pull gas from storage to meet heating demand. However, mild weather has allowed energy firms to start injecting gas into storage.

Financial firm LSEG projected average gas demand in the Lower 48 states, including exports, would fall from 108.7 bcfd this week to 107.6 bcfd next week. The forecast for this week was slightly higher than LSEG's outlook on Monday.

	Week ended Mar 27 Forecasts	Week ended Mar 20 Actual	Year ago Mar 27	Five-year average (2021-2025) Mar 27
U.S. weekly natgas storage change (bcf):	+34	-54	+30	-4
U.S. total natgas in storage (bcf):	1,863	1,829	1,769	1,811
U.S. total storage versus 5-year average	+2.9%	+0.8%


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	2.84	2.86	N/A	3.62	3.79
Title Transfer Facility (TTF) TRNLTTFMc1	16.94	16.47	N/A	11.94	18.51
Japan-Korea Marker (JKM) JKMc1	19.83	20.130	N/A	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)	148	158	197	207	215
U.S. GFS Cooling Degree Days (CDD)	38	35	33	25	18
U.S. GFS Total Degree Days (TDD)	186	193	230	232	233

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	109.9	110.6	110.7	106.8	99.9
U.S. Imports from Canada	7.3	6.9	6.4	N/A	8.0
U.S. LNG Imports	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.1
Total U.S. Supply	117.2	117.5	117.1	N/A	108.0

U.S. Demand (bcfd)
U.S. Exports to Canada	3.9	3.5	2.8	N/A	3.4
U.S. Exports to Mexico	6.3	5.6	6.2	N/A	5.8
U.S. LNG Export Feedgas	18.7	18.9	18.6	16.1	13.2
U.S. Commercial	9.0	8.9	8.9	9.8	12.1
U.S. Residential	12.0	11.8	11.9	13.9	18.3
U.S. Power Plant	29.3	29.1	27.9	29.6	31.8
U.S. Industrial	23.1	23.2	23.5	23.6	24.5
U.S. Plant Fuel	5.4	5.5	5.5	5.4	5.4
U.S. Pipe Distribution	2.2	2.1	2.1	2.5	4.0
U.S. Vehicle Fuel	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.2
Total U.S. Consumption	81.1	80.8	79.9	84.9	96.3
Total U.S. Demand	110.0	108.7	107.6	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	96	96	76	74	83
Jan-Jul	99	100	78	76	77
Oct-Sep	102	103	80	77	76

U.S. weekly power generation percent by fuel - EIA
	Week ended Mar 27	Week ended Mar 20	2025	2024	2023
Wind	16	17	11	11	10
Solar	9	8	6	5	4
Hydro	8	8	6	6	6
Other	1	1	1	1	2
Petroleum	0	0	0	0	0
Natural Gas	35	34	40	42	41
Coal	13	12	18	16	17
Nuclear	18	19	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	2.985	3.152	N/A	3.52	3.72
Transco Z6 New York NG-CG-NY-SNL	2.288	1.847	N/A	3.53	3.56
PG&E Citygate NG-CG-PGE-SNL	1.541	1.619	N/A	3.42	5.47
Eastern Gas (old Dominion South) NG-PCN-APP-SNL	2.079	1.904	N/A	2.79	2.96
Chicago Citygate NG-CG-CH-SNL	2.383	2.588	N/A	3.23	3.60
Algonquin Citygate NG-CG-BS-SNL	2.550	1.978	N/A	6.08	5.04
SoCal Citygate NG-SCL-CGT-SNL	1.966	2.036	N/A	3.60	5.71
Waha Hub NG-WAH-WTX-SNL	-3.88	-3.67	N/A	1.15	2.88
AECO NG-ASH-ALB-SNL	1.357	1.409	N/A	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	47.37	36.52	N/A	77.61	61.79
PJM West E-PJWHRTP-IX	57.72	61.14	N/A	60.23	54.47
Mid-Columbia (Mid C) W-MIDCP-IDX	11.45	22.96	N/A	44.81	68.96
Palo Verde W-PVP-IDX	9.69	-	N/A	34.82	59.94
South Path-15 (SP-15) W-SP15-IDX	-	-	N/A	28.44	53.02

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