Natural gas futures on Wednesday declined again under the weight of two usual suspects – steady production and modest demand. Following Tuesday’s 9.0-cent sell-off, the July Nymex gas futures contract settled at $2.266/MMBtu, down 6.1 cents day/day. August shed 5.8 cents to $2.358.

At A Glance:

  • Production at 96.5 Bcf/d
  • Uneven weather outlook
  • Storage situation improves

In contrast, NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. advanced a second straight day, rising 18.5 cents to $2.095. The average recovered from a beating last week.

Production topped 101 Bcf/d, according to Bloomberg’s estimate on Wednesday. Aside from sporadic maintenance interruptions, output in May consistently held near or above the century mark and within striking distance of record averages just above 102...