July natural gas futures debuted at the front of the Nymex curve with a thud, tumbling 16.8 cents to $8.727/MMBtu ahead of the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

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At A Glance:

  • Cooler June outlook softens futures
  • Production ramping higher
  • Cash off on soft holiday demand

Spot gas prices also softened amid light demand, with NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. sliding 80.0 cents to $7.850.

After falling to hold intraday gains on Thursday, bearish technical pressure took hold of Friday’s trading session early. The July Nymex contract opened less than a dime lower at around the $8.880 mark but quickly fell below $8.500 as trading got underway.

While technical factors were in play, fundamentals also weighed on prices. For example, weather forecasts cooled a bit for the next week...