Natural gas futures tried to shake off a stronger-than-expected government inventory print Thursday but settled lower as benign weather and LNG hiccups weighed.

At A Glance:

  • EIA reports 92 Bcf injection
  • West Texas cash flips negative
  • Freeport LNG stays down

Following a nearly 16-cent decline, the May Nymex contract settled down 1.5 cents day/day at $1.638/MMBtu on its penultimate day as the front month contract. The contract managed to trade slightly positive in the late morning but quickly sank lower in topsy-turvy trading.

Meanwhile, the June contract, which takes over after Friday’s close, rose 0.7 cent to $1.986.

NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. lost 14.0 cents to $1.165. Every region posted declines, including West Texas that fell back into negative territory.