Natural gas futures ended the week on solid footing after notching two straight days in the green. Though the near-term outlook remains bearish, traders covered short positions ahead of the weekend. A fire on a small portion of a natural gas pipeline also fueled some of the early momentum for the June Nymex gas futures contract, which settled Friday at $2.410/MMBtu, up 5.5 cents from Thursday’s close.

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At A Glance:

  • Production stubbornly robust
  • Maintenance takes LNG down
  • Pipe fire creates cash chaos

Spot gas, which traded Friday for gas delivery on Monday, strengthened as well. NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. climbed 9.5 cents to $2.085.

Though weather-driven demand continues to be largely absent from the gas market, supply has surprised to the upside.

Refinitiv’s John...