Weekly natural gas cash prices dropped amid mild temperatures and weakening demand across much of the Lower 48.

NGI’s Weekly Spot Gas National Avg. for the May 1-5 period fell 30.0 cents to $1.865/MMBtu.

Conditions during the week largely favored bears. Production held around 100 Bcf/d most days – well above year-earlier levels and within roughly 2 Bcf/d of record activity. On the demand side, a few rounds of chilly rain pushed through northern markets, but overall weather proved benign in most regions.  

“Weather is always the overriding factor,” Marex North America LLC’s Steve Blair, senior account executive, told NGI. 

As the trading week closed, prices were down in every region of the Lower 48. Chicago Citygate declined 18.5 cents to $1.885, while Florida Gas...