US natural gas futures climbed about 2% to $2.96 per MMBtu after producers curtailed output over the holiday weekend and a greater share of domestic supply was diverted to LNG export terminals along the Gulf Coast. Estimated gas flows to LNG facilities reached roughly 18.4 billion cubic feet per day on Tuesday, almost 9% higher than the previous week, as several export plants came back online following seasonal maintenance that had temporarily pushed additional supply into the domestic market.
Average gas production in the Lower 48 has eased to 109.4 billion cubic feet per day so far in May, down from 109.8 billion in April. The combination of lower output and firmer demand in recent weeks has likely narrowed the storage surplus to about 6% above the seasonal norm, compared with roughly 7% a week earlier.
Still, forecasts for below-average temperatures in California through May 30 and across the Eastern US from May 31 to June 4 may dampen air-conditioning demand, allowing more gas to flow into storage and potentially tempering further price gains.
