Natural gas futures retreated on Thursday, following a relatively robust storage injection and forecasts for tapered cooling demand over the balance of July. The August Nymex contract fell 4.6 cents day/day and settled at $3.614/MMBtu. September slipped 4.7 cents to $3.601. It marked a third straight day of losses.

EIA storage july 9

At A Glance:

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

NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. shed 1.5 cents to $3.620.

Bespoke Weather Services noted that, while lofty summer temperatures persist in parts of the Plains and across much of the West, the intensity of heat has eased from the record highs posted in June.

For the rest of July, Bespoke said, heat is expected to be below normal across most of the southern United States,...