August natural gas prices started to show signs of slowing down Tuesday. But as oppressive heat led to more shattered records and rolling blackouts in the Pacific Northwest, the new prompt month edged up another 3.7 cents to $3.630 in its debut at the front of the Nymex futures. September climbed 3.4 cents to $3.606.

Markets

At A Glance:

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

Natural gas cash prices also continued to swell amid the intense heat and high humidity. Next-day gas surged past $7.00 in California and to $12.00 in the Northeast, helping to lift NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. 30.5 cents to $4.080.

In one of the more volatile nonwinter trading sessions in years, the August futures contract soared early to an intraday high above...