Natural gas futures took one (actually two) on the chin Thursday as a larger-than-expected storage injection and an update regarding the Freeport liquefied natural gas (LNG) outage sent prices tumbling to levels not seen in months. The August Nymex futures contract plummeted $1.074 to $5.424/MMBtu. September lost $1.101 cents to land at $5.392.

At A Glance:

  • Production falls to 97 Bcf/d
  • Forecasts for mixed demand
  • NGI models draw of 41 Bcf

Spot gas prices also softened as rains were expected along the Texas coast for the remainder of the week, driving cooling demand lower. NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. fell 38.0 cents to $6.230.

After a relatively quiet opening for Thursday’s trading session, the latest government inventory data quickly changed the game. The Energy...