Against a consistent backdrop of lackluster natural gas demand, robust production, lagging exports and unseasonably solid storage inventories, forward prices continued to crumble during the March 16-22 period, according to NGI’s Forward Look.

SoCalGas Maintenance Impacts

Natural gas fixed prices declined more than 30.0 cents on average for April, with several U.S. locations recording even steeper decreases for the period, Forward Look data showed. May prices were similarly weak, though the full summer strip (April-October) averaged only one-quarter lower as traders baked in the prospects of at least some heat in the core months of the upcoming season.

With analysts expecting a tapering of production growth in the coming months, along with the return of the Freeport LNG export facility, winter prices...