Natural gas futures found fresh footing Friday amid lingering supply questions and elevated cooling demand, ending a topsy-turvy week in the green. The August Nymex gas futures contract settled at $7.016/MMBtu, up 41.6 cents day/day. September rose 41.5 cents to $6.926.

market

At A Glance:

  • Forecasts call for lofty Lower 48 temps
  • European heat wave adds to LNG demand
  • Summer U.S. production proves choppy

NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg., in contrast, pulled back 22.0 cents to $6.600 following big gains earlier in the week.

Futures slumped at points earlier in the week amid broader selloffs in oil and other commodities as global recession fears mounted. The Freeport LNG outage that followed an early June fire also continued to foster a bear case. It cut U.S. export capacity by about...