Natural gas futures flourished for the first time in five sessions on Tuesday, mounting momentum alongside lofty temperatures and hints of lighter production.

California Prices

At A Glance:

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

Coming off a four-day slump, the August Nymex gas futures contract settled at $2.629/MMBtu, up 11.7 cents day/day. September advanced 11.4 cents to $2.618.

NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. shed 3.0 cents to $2.590, essentially pausing after notable gains Monday and last week.

Production, which had hovered around 101 Bcf/d to start the week, dropped just under 100 Bcf/d, according to Bloomberg estimates.

EBW Analytics Group’s Eli Rubin, senior analyst, said output “could slip further this week amid pipeline maintenance...