Natural gas futures rallied for a fourth consecutive session on Friday as sweltering heat and revived export demand pointed to even tighter balances ahead of the peak summer cooling season.    

forward look

At A Glance:

  • LNG export volumes weaken
  • Cooling demand dissipates
  • Production slips in Permian

The July Nymex contract settled at $3.496/MMBtu, up 7.8 cents day/day. It marked the highest close for the prompt month since January 2019. August, which takes over as the front month on Tuesday, rose 8.3 cents to $3.520.

With demand strong across every region, NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. spiked 22.5 cents to $3.375.

Sizzling temperatures baked much of the West and South Friday ahead of an expected weekend heat wave in the Pacific Northwest that threatened to overtax power grids....