US natgas futures at two-week high on cooler weather view, near-record LNG flows
April 22 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures rose to a two-week high on Wednesday, supported by forecasts for cooler than expected weather that is anticipated to pull up heating demand, and on near-record gas flows to U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants.
Front-month gas futures for May delivery NGc1 on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 3.8 cent, or 1.4%, to $2.74 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) at 10 a.m. ET (1400 GMT), after touching its highest level since April 8 earlier in the session.
"The market remains well supported in remaining within easy reach of 2-week highs on the support of cooler temperatures that will be kicking up HDDs during the next couple of weeks in the process of limiting an expected expansion in the supply surplus into next month," Ritterbusch & Associates said in a note.
Financial firm LSEG said average gas output in the U.S. Lower 48 states held at 109.4 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in April. That compares with a monthly record high of 110.7 bcfd in December 2025.
LSEG projected average gas demand in the Lower 48 states, including exports, would rise to 103.5 bcfd this week from 101.4 bcfd last week.
Average gas flows to the nine big U.S. LNG export plants rose to 18.9 bcfd so far in April, up from 18.6 bcfd in March. That reading compares with a monthly record high of 18.7 bcfd in February.
Meanwhile, European gas prices edged higher as the market waited for news on further peace talks after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would indefinitely extend the ceasefire to the Iran-US conflict. NG/EU
| Week ended April 17 Forecast | Week ended April 10 Actual | Year ago April 17 | Five-year average (2021-2025) April 17 |
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U.S. weekly natgas storage change (bcf): | +86 | +59 | +77 | +64 |
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U.S. total natgas in storage (bcf): | 2,056 | 1,970 | 1,921 | 1,926 |
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U.S. total storage versus 5-year average | +6.7% | +5.8% |
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Global Gas Benchmark Futures ($ per mmBtu) | Current Day | Prior Day | This Month Last Year | Prior Year Average 2025 | Five-Year Average (2021-2025) |
Henry Hub NGc1 | 2.73 | 2.67 | 3.43 | 3.62 | 3.79 |
Title Transfer Facility (TTF) TRNLTTFMc1 | 14.60 | 14.05 | 11.48 | 11.94 | 18.51 |
Japan-Korea Marker (JKM) JKMc1 | 15.81 | 15.24 | 12.23 | 12.24 | 18.12 |
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LSEG U.S. Global Forecast System (GFS) Heating, Cooling and Total Degree Days |
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Two-Week Total Forecast | Current Day | Prior Day | Prior Year | 10-Year Norm | 30-Year Norm |
U.S. GFS Heating Degree Days (HDD) | 112 | 115 | 82 | 131 | 126 |
U.S. GFS Cooling Degree Days (CDD) | 47 | 47 | 59 | 44 | 38 |
U.S. GFS Total Degree Days (TDD) | 159 | 162 | 141 | 175 | 164 |
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LSEG U.S. Weekly GFS Supply and Demand Forecasts |
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| Prior Week | Current Week | Next Week | This Week Last Year | Five-Year (2021-2025) Average for Month |
U.S. Supply (bcfd) |
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U.S. Lower 48 Dry Production | 110.0 | 109.4 | 109.9 | 106.4 | 99.9 |
U.S. Imports from Canada | 6.8 | 6.7 | 6.7 | N/A | 7.5 |
U.S. LNG Imports | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Total U.S. Supply | 116.8 | 116.1 | 116.5 | N/A | 107.4 |
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U.S. Demand (bcfd) |
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U.S. Exports to Canada | 2.4 | 2.4 | 2.4 | N/A | 2.5 |
U.S. Exports to Mexico | 6.5 | 6.7 | 6.2 | N/A | 6.1 |
U.S. LNG Export Feedgas | 18.6 | 18.8 | 18.8 | 15.8 | 13.1 |
U.S. Commercial | 6.4 | 7.3 | 6.4 | 6.3 | 8.6 |
U.S. Residential | 7.6 | 8.9 | 7.4 | 7.3 | 11.4 |
U.S. Power Plant | 30.0 | 28.9 | 29.3 | 30.5 | 27.2 |
U.S. Industrial | 22.3 | 22.9 | 22.5 | 22.4 | 23.3 |
U.S. Plant Fuel | 5.4 | 5.4 | 5.4 | 5.4 | 5.3 |
U.S. Pipe Distribution | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 3.0 |
U.S. Vehicle Fuel | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
Total U.S. Consumption | 73.8 | 75.5 | 73.1 | 74.0 | 79.0 |
Total U.S. Demand | 101.4 | 103.5 | 100.6 | N/A | 100.7 |
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N/A = Not Available |
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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 | 94 | 95 | 76 | 74 | 83 |
Jan-Jul | 97 | 97 | 78 | 76 | 77 |
Oct-Sep | 101 | 102 | 80 | 77 | 76 |
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U.S. weekly power generation percent by fuel - EIA |
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| Week ended Apr 24 | Week ended Apr 17 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 |
Wind | 17 | 18 | 11 | 11 | 10 |
Solar | 8 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 4 |
Hydro | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
Other | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Petroleum | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Natural Gas | 35 | 35 | 40 | 42 | 41 |
Coal | 13 | 14 | 18 | 16 | 17 |
Nuclear | 17 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 19 |
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SNL U.S. Natural Gas Next-Day Prices ($ per mmBtu) |
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Hub | Current Day | Prior Day | This Month Last Year | Prior Year Average 2025 | Five-Year Average (2021-2025) |
Henry Hub NG-W-HH-SNL | 2.76 | 2.81 | 3.41 | 3.52 | 3.72 |
Transco Z6 New York NG-CG-NY-SNL | 2.18 | 2.43 | 2.81 | 3.53 | 3.56 |
PG&E Citygate NG-CG-PGE-SNL | 1.33 | 1.29 | 2.63 | 3.42 | 5.47 |
Eastern Gas (formerly Dominion South) NG-PCN-APP-SNL | 1.95 | 2.16 | 2.69 | 2.79 | 2.96 |
Chicago Citygate NG-CG-CH-SNL | 2.28 | 2.38 | 3.03 | 3.23 | 3.60 |
Algonquin Citygate NG-CG-BS-SNL | 2.45 | 2.65 | 3.15 | 6.08 | 5.04 |
SoCal Citygate NG-SCL-CGT-SNL | 2.01 | 2.00 | 2.94 | 3.60 | 5.71 |
Waha Hub NG-WAH-WTX-SNL | -3.57 | -3.71 | 1.38 | 1.15 | 2.88 |
AECO NG-ASH-ALB-SNL | 1.266 | 0.88 | 1.60 | 1.13 | 2.13 |
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Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) U.S. Power Next-Day Prices ($ per megawatt-hour) |
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Hub | Current Day | Prior Day | This Month Last Year | Prior Year Average 2025 | Five-Year Average (2021-2025) |
New England E-NEPLMHP-IDX | 63.48 | 54.40 | 42.26 | 77.61 | 61.79 |
PJM West E-PJWHRTP-IX | 59.19 | 60.13 | 50.50 | 60.23 | 54.47 |
Mid-Columbia (Mid C) W-MIDCP-IDX | 4.99 | 6.36 | 26.45 | 44.81 | 68.96 |
Palo Verde W-PVP-IDX | - | 23.00 | 25.26 | 34.82 | 59.94 |
South Path-15 (SP-15) W-SP15-IDX | - | 6.68 | 9.76 | 28.44 | 53.02 |
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