Bears continued to tear into natural gas futures for the sixth straight week, sending August fixed prices down 87.0 cents on average for the period ending July 6, according to NGI’s Forward Look.

September fixed prices put up similarly steep losses, which extended through the remainder of the summer (August-October). Notably, even the strip for the upcoming winter (November-March) dropped dramatically amid a seemingly improved supply picture in the wake of the explosion and subsequent outage at the Freeport liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal.

However, basis trading revealed a starkly different backdrop in the Southeast, Forward Look data showed. August basis at Transco Zone 2 jumped 1.520 on the week to plus $2.150/MMBtu. September basis was up 67.0 cents to plus $1.165. By...