Natural gas futures finished the week on a flat note, despite expectations for robust demand through mid-September and moderating production levels.

At A Glance:

  • Prompt month ticks lower
  • Heatwave to drive demand
  • Inventory surplus narrows

The October Nymex gas futures contract on Friday shed three-tenths of a cent day/day and settled at $2.765/MMBtu.

NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. followed a similar sideways path, ticking up 1.5 cents to $2.300.

NatGasWeather said Friday that both the American and European weather models shed cooling degree days for the middle of September, which lowered expectations from “solidly hotter than normal” back to average. Until then, however, the forecaster expects searing heat to permeate much of the Lower 48, beginning with the week...