Natural gas futures retreated in early trading as signs of weaker LNG export volumes added to an already soft near-term fundamental outlook.

NGI Morning Natural Gas Price & Markets Coverage

Heading into its first day as the prompt month, the May Nymex contract was off 3.7 cents to $1.751/MMBtu as of 8:44 a.m. ET.

The April contract rolled off the board Tuesday at $1.575, giving up 4.0 cents on its final day of trading. According to historical data obtained by NGI, that ranks among the lowest monthly settlement prices for natural gas futures going back decades.

In the post-pandemic period, the July 2020 contract settled at $1.495. Other than that, all other monthly final settlement prices lower than April 2024 occurred in the early to mid-1990s, historical data show. 

The last April contract to finish lower than April...