Natural gas futures on Wednesday gained ground for the third time in four sessions amid steady demand for U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) and concern about delayed export deliveries after a huge container ship was grounded in the Suez Canal.

The April Nymex contract climbed 1.0 cent day/day and settled at $2.518/MMBtu. May followed suit, advancing 1.4 cents to $2.568. Each had tumbled a day earlier after a two-day winning streak.

NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. shed 2.5 cents to $2.295.

Strong European and Asian demand for U.S. exports has kept LNG feed gas volumes near or above 11 Bcf/d throughout most of March. Volumes held near 11.5 Bcf on Wednesday, according to NGI data, not far from the record levels reached late last week, when exports approached 12 Bcf.

Though...