Natural gas futures gave up ground amid profit-taking on Friday but finished ahead for the week as robust cooling demand was expected to endure.

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At A Glance:

  • Prompt month sheds 4.4 cents
  • Weather demand holds strong
  • Storage supplies remain robust

The August Nymex gas futures contract fell 4.4 cents day/day and settled at $2.713/MMBtu. September shed 2.4 cents to $2.707.

NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. slipped 7.5 cents to $2.640.

Bolstered by a 15.4-cent gain Thursday, however, the prompt month finished the week up 7% from the prior week’s close.

Production held just below 99 Bcf/d, according to Bloomberg’s estimate on Friday, extending a weeklong trend of sub-100 readings amid maintenance events from Texas to Appalachia and the Northeast.

The weather, meanwhile,...