Despite the absence of new near-term catalysts, natural gas futures bounced back on Tuesday as traders sharpened their focus on the looming summer cooling season and ongoing expectations for U.S. export demand to prove strong through 2021.

At A Glance:

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

The June Nymex contract, which rolls off the boards at the close Wednesday, gained 2.7 cents day/day and settled at $2.913/MMBtu. The prompt month had shed 2.0 cents a day earlier. July picked up 1.4 cents to $2.974 on Tuesday.

NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. was down a half-cent to $2.695 on Tuesday, following the 5.5-cent gain posted a day earlier.

Still, NatGasWeather said Tuesday overnight data pointed to a bearish pattern for this weekend...