The fundamentals were in place for natural gas futures to continue climbing on Tuesday, but the threat of a hurricane striking the Gulf Coast (again) later this week sent prices down several notches. The November Nymex gas futures contract settled at $2.520, off 9.5 cents from Monday’s close. December fell 6.5 cents to $3.096.

PM Markets

Spot gas prices continued climbing, lifting NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. 15.0 cents to $1.740.

Like Hurricane Laura in August, Hurricane Delta is poised to quickly sap the momentum building in liquefied natural gas (LNG) demand. The Category 4 storm is expected to make landfall in Louisiana early Saturday, less than two months after Laura devastated Lake Charles, LA.

Although no U.S. LNG facilities are in the direct path of the storm, preparations...