US natural gas prices stabilized around $3.12/MMBtu on Tuesday after a two-day decline, as traders balanced the restart of the Mountaineer XPress pipeline in West Virginia against rising LNG export demand and forecasts for persistently hot weather. TC Energy lifted the force majeure on Sunday after completing repairs on the pipeline, a move expected to enable increased gas flows out of the Marcellus/Utica region in the coming days.
At the same time, the market continues to draw support from stronger LNG feedgas demand, with flows to the nine major export facilities averaging 18 bcfd so far in September, up from 17.3 bcfd in August. Hotter-than-normal temperatures have also helped reduce the storage overhang that had built up on the back of robust production and mild spring weather. Analysts expect gas inventories to have narrowed to 2.4% above the seasonal norm in the week ended September 25, down from 2.9% the previous week. Meanwhile, Lower 48 production has remained elevated at 112.3 bcfd in September, matching the record monthly high set in August.
