November Natural Gas Called Slightly Lower as Traders Await Inventory Data

After punching through the $3/MMBtu barrier in the previous session, natural gas futures held relatively steady in early trading Thursday as the market awaited the latest round of government inventory data. The November Nymex contract was off 2.1 cents to $3.002 at around 8:40 a.m. ET.

The November contract settled at $3.023 Wednesday, marking the first time a prompt month closed above $3 since early 2019, Genscape Inc. analyst Dan Spangler noted.

“Bullishness was in part driven by colder shifts in weather forecasts,” including increased degree day expectations for the Midwest and East regions, Spangler said. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) feed gas demand “has also rebounded, with exports back above 8 Bcf/d for the first time since April. Meanwhile, production is still well...