May Nymex natural gas (NGK25) on Monday closed up +0.054 (+1.33%).
May nat-gas prices on Monday rose to a 1-week high and settled moderately higher on cooler forecasts for the eastern US, which would boost heating demand for nat gas. Forecaster Atmospheric G2 said Monday that forecasts have moved significantly cooler for the eastern two-thirds of the US for April 5-9.
Earlier this month, nat-gas rallied to a 2-year high on signs that US nat-gas storage levels could remain tight ahead of the summer air-conditioning season. BloombergNEF projects that US gas storage will be 10% below the five-year average this summer.
Lower-48 state dry gas production Monday was 107.1 bcf/day (+3.9 y/y), according to BNEF. Lower-48 state gas demand Monday was 74.2 bcf/day (-1.0% y/y), according to BNEF. LNG net flows to US LNG export terminals Monday were 15.5 bcf/day (+8.9% w/w), according to BNEF.
An increase in US electricity output is positive for nat-gas demand from utility providers. The Edison Electric Institute reported last Wednesday that total US (lower-48) electricity output in the week ended March 22 rose +0.9% y/y to 72,289 GWh (gigawatt hours), and US electricity output in the 52-week period ending March 22 rose +3.55% y/y to 4,239,323 GWh.
In a bullish longer-term factor for nat-gas prices, President Trump lifted the Biden administration's pause on approving gas export projects in January, thus moving into active consideration a backlog of about a dozen LNG export projects. Increased US capacity for exporting LNG would boost demand for US nat-gas and support nat-gas prices.
Last Thursday's weekly EIA report was bearish for nat-gas prices since nat-gas inventories for the week ended March 21 rose +37 bcf, a larger build than expectations of +33 bcf and well above the 5-year average draw for this time of year for a -31 bcf draw. As of March 21, nat-gas inventories were down -24.0% y/y and -6.5% below their 5-year seasonal average, signaling tight nat-gas supplies. In Europe, gas storage was 34% full as of March 29, versus the 5-year seasonal average of 45% full for this time of year.
Baker Hughes reported last Friday that the number of active US nat-gas drilling rigs in the week ending March 28 rose +1 to 103 rigs, modestly above the 3-1/2 year low of 94 rigs posted on September 6, 2024. Active rigs have fallen since posting a 5-1/4 year high of 166 rigs in Sep 2022, up from the pandemic-era record low of 68 rigs posted in July 2020 (data since 1987).
