A bullish storage result – at least relative to expectations – punctuated bullish sentiment built on the combination of rising cooling demand and sagging production, bolstering natural gas futures Friday and marking the fifth gain in as many sessions.

At A Glance:

  • Prompt month gains 9.9 cents
  • Southern heat wave endures
  • Production slump continues

Coming off a 19.1-cent gain a day earlier, the July Nymex gas futures contract on Friday gained another 9.9 cents day/day and settled at $2.632/MMBtu. August climbed 11.2 cents to $2.721.

The prompt month finished Friday up 17% from the prior week’s close. 

NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. slipped 1.0 cent to $1.975, leveling off after consecutive gains over the four previous sessions.

The “storage print started it and...