Coming off a strong run to close out the summer cooling season, Henry Hub natural gas spot prices would likely go on to average $4/MMBtu during the fourth quarter, the Energy Information Administration said in updated projections released Wednesday.

The $4.00 forecast for 4Q2021 prices, published in the agency’s latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, comes as higher-than-expected power sector demand and production impacts from Hurricane Ida helped send prices surging to an average of $4.07 in August. July prices averaged $3.84, the agency said.

In last month’s report, EIA forecast an average Henry Hub price of $3.42 for 2021 overall and $3.71 for 3Q2021.

“We expect the Henry Hub spot price will average $4 in 4Q2021 as the factors that drove prices higher during August...