Price bulls, galvanized by continued production drops, powered natural gas futures close to a fifth consecutive gain on Wednesday before they fizzled in afternoon trading amid profit-taking. The June Nymex gas futures contract ultimately settled at $2.187/MMBtu, down 2.0 cents day/day.

At A Glance:

  • Output slips close to 95 Bcf/d
  • Weather to shift in bears’ favor
  • West Texas prices under pressure

NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg., meanwhile, gained 7.0 cents to $1.520, with weather-driven demand strength in the Rockies leading the way.

Production fell to 95.1 Bcf/d on Wednesday, down about 1 Bcf/d from the prior day’s revised estimate and off more than 3 Bcf/d from the previous 30-day average. After reaching all-time highs around 107 Bcf/d earlier this year, output has dropped...