Natural gas futures on Wednesday finished in the red for the first time in four sessions as traders braced for several robust storage injections amid mild weather and soft export demand. The June Nymex gas futures contract settled at $2.365/MMBtu, down 1.1 cents day/day. July slid 2.5 cents to $2.509.

At A Glance:

  • Front month sheds a penny
  • Storage estimates in 100s Bcf
  • Wildfire situation ‘dynamic’

NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. fell 11.5 cents to $2.040. The average had advanced the two prior days.

The latest Baker Hughes Co. (BKR) data, released Friday, showed natural gas-directed rigs dropped by 16 to 141 last week, the biggest decline since 2016. It galvanized a three-day futures rally through Tuesday, with traders betting it signaled a slowdown in production that...