Natural gas futures action remained choppy midweek, with prices falling in sympathy with a broader decline in commodities early in the session rather than in response to major swings in supply and demand. Aided by a bit of technical resistance, the September Nymex gas futures contract settled Wednesday at $4.059/MMBtu, off 3.0 cents day/day. October slid 3.2 cents to $4.071.

Storage

At A Glance:

  • Technical trading drives futures lower
  • Storage build seen near historical norms
  • Cash retreats as near-term heat baked in

Spot gas prices also declined across much of the country. However, big gains continued in the Northeast and parts of California, sending NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. up another 3.0 cents to $4.145.

With the likely peak of summer underway across the United States, natural...