Natural gas futures snapped a two-day losing streak with a furious rally on the heels of a bullish government inventory report. The August Nymex gas futures contract jumped 78.7 cents day/day and settled at $6.297/MMBtu. September climbed 78.0 cents to $6.262.

At A Glance:

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

NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. followed suit, rising 24.5 cents to $5.905.

Heading into trading Thursday, analysts had expected a seasonally stout inventory increase that would keep the market on pace for adequate supplies in storage by the end of the injection season.

In contrast to intense heat and robust cooling demand this summer – as well as modest production – an outage at a key liquefied natural gas (LNG)...