Natural gas futures opened the week lower as a trifecta of bearish factors, including a large drop in export feed gas demand, brought prices down a couple of notches. The July Nymex gas futures contract fell 2.7 cents to $3.070. August fell 2.5 cents to $3.089.

At A Glance:

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

Spot gas prices were higher, however, as heat blanketed the Midwest and Northeast. NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. climbed 12.0 cents to $2.880.

After maintaining the $3.00 mark last week in the face of moderate temperatures, weather models that showed much hotter conditions in key regions this week helped lift the July Nymex futures contract even higher, to around $3.100 on Friday. However, weather data in recent runs has...