A very tight government inventory report sparked an initial rebound in natural gas futures on Thursday. But it was heat seen through the first full week of July and some technical drivers that sent futures surging later in the session. The July Nymex gas futures contract shot up 8.5 cents to settle at $3.418. August closed at $3.437, also up 8.5 cents on the day.

EIA storage june 18

At A Glance:

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

Spot gas prices also strengthened as hotter weather began to expand across more of the country. With potentially record-breaking temperatures in the Pacific Northwest and across the border in Canada, NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. climbed 5.5 cents to $3.150.

Though still a couple of weeks shy of the core of summer, some...