US Natgas Prices Fall from 3-Week High

US natural gas futures fell below $3.20 per million British thermal units, retreating from a nearly three-week high of $3.283 reached on October 13, mainly due to forecasts for relatively mild weather across the country through October 29, which are expected to limit both heating and cooling demand.

Also, average feedgas deliveries to the nine major US liquefied natural gas export terminals eased to 17.5 billion cubic feet per day so far this month, down from 17.9 bcfd in September.

On the other hand, domestic production in the Lower 48 states declined to 110.8 bcfd in October, compared with record averages of 113.3 bcfd in August and September.

The reduction reflected hurricane-related Gulf of Mexico shut-ins, force majeure events and pipeline disruptions in several states.

Meanwhile, analysts estimate inventories fell to 1.6% above seasonal norms in the week ending October 9, from 2% previously, ahead of Thursday’s government storage report.