Natural gas futures were trading sharply lower early Wednesday as analysts warned of a potentially prolonged post-Hurricane Laura demand recovery. The October Nymex contract was off 8.8 cents to $2.439/MMBtu at around 8:50 a.m. ET.

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It could take weeks for natural gas demand along the Gulf Coast to return to pre-Laura levels, according to estimates from Genscape Inc.

“Many facilities near the path of the storm shut down as a precaution, but most have started ramping back up,” Genscape analyst Dan Spangler said. “Notable examples include Motiva’s Port Arthur refinery, which is scheduled to consume roughly 50% of the natural gas it normally does. The facility spent only one day shut down when Laura made landfall last Thursday.

“Similarly Natgasoline’s methanol plant...