NEW YORK, June 23, 2026, 05:15 (EDT)
Natural gas futures eased early Tuesday, with the July NYMEX contract down 1.9 cents, or 0.6%, at $3.234 per million British thermal units as of 5:03 a.m. EDT. Monday’s gains faded as supply growth weighed against weather-driven buying.
Natural gas finished Monday with July contracts up 0.6% at $3.253, as the market balanced this summer’s first big heat with higher-than-usual storage. Warmer forecasts for July boosted expected demand from power generators.
The U.S. Climate Prediction Center on Monday said the chance of above-normal temperatures looks higher across areas east of the Rockies from June 28 through July 2. The agency also flagged early signs for a broader heat wave June 30 through July 6. That could push up use of air conditioning and boost demand for gas-fired power.
Summer gas markets could keep seeing a push-pull from bullish weather and rising supply, according to a note from Eli Rubin at EBW Analytics cited by The Wall Street Journal. LNG feedgas demand has come back, but higher output has capped prices so far.
U.S. natural gas inventories climbed by 73 billion cubic feet in the week ended June 12, the Energy Information Administration said. Total storage hit 2,759 Bcf. Stocks sit 151 Bcf, or 5.8%, above the five-year average, but are still 29 Bcf under last year.
Later-month gas contracts dropped too. The August contract slipped 1.4 cents to $3.265 per mmBtu, and September gave up 1.1 cents to $3.223. Traders sold across the front of the futures curve.
European benchmark Dutch TTF gas slipped 0.3%, trading near €41.77 per megawatt-hour, numbers from Trading Economics show. Easing global supply worries came after Qatar’s energy minister said the explosion at a domestic gas-processing site over the weekend had left LNG plants, port activity and Ras Laffan export capacity untouched.
Traders are looking to the next EIA storage report out Thursday, June 25. The U.S. Energy Information Administration usually posts the weekly numbers at 10:30 a.m. Eastern.
Prices may climb if hotter weather sticks around or expands, which would shrink weekly storage builds and boost power-sector demand. But if forecasts turn cooler or output picks up, storage injections could grow again, and above-average inventories still cushion supply, putting pressure on prices.
