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Nat-gas rebounds ahead of August futures contract rollover
August Nymex natural gas settled up 2.4% after fund short-covering, even as forecasts point to normal to below-normal temperatures and a larger-than-normal weekly storage build.
Natural gas prices rebounded on Wednesday as the last trading day for the August Nymex natural gas futures contract prompted fund short covering. August Nymex natural gas (NGQ26) closed up 0.063, or 2.37%, after settling higher from a 3-month nearest-futures low, according to Yahoo Finance.
The move came as weather expectations weighed on demand near term. Commodity Weather Group forecasts call for normal to below-normal temperatures across the central and eastern US through August 7, which would reduce air conditioning needs.
Other factors also influenced prices. Wednesday’s outlook included expectations for a larger-than-normal build in US gas storage, with the consensus for Thursday’s weekly EIA inventories pegged at an increase of 37 bcf for the week ended July 24, above the five-year average of 26 bcf, according to Yahoo Finance.
In the supply-demand backdrop, BNEF data showed US (lower-48) dry gas production at 112.1 bcf/day, up 3.9% year over year, while lower-48 state gas demand was 82.2 bcf/day, down 7.2% year over year. Yahoo Finance also cited estimated LNG net flows to US export terminals of 18.1 bcf/day, up 2.0% week over week, as well as the EIA’s July 7 increase to its 2026 dry gas production forecast to 111.2 bcf/day.
Latest closeNat gas $2.792 ▲1.2%