New York, January 5, 2026, 17:31 EST — After-hours
- Coterra Energy closed down about 3% as U.S. natural gas futures slid on warmer-weather forecasts.
- The producer said CFO Shane Young will speak Tuesday at a Goldman Sachs energy conference.
- Traders are eyeing Thursday’s U.S. natural gas storage report for the next signal on winter balances.
Coterra Energy (CTRA.N) shares fell on Monday as U.S. natural gas prices slid on forecasts for warmer weather, pressuring gas-weighted producers in early January. The stock closed down 2.93% at $25.82 and was last up a cent at $25.83 after the bell.
Why it matters now: temperature swings can move the gas market sharply in the winter heating season, when demand for space heating dominates consumption. For producers, a weaker gas strip can quickly translate into lower cash-flow expectations and a slower pace of buybacks or drilling, depending on hedges and budgets.
The selloff also comes with traders focused on storage withdrawals — gas pulled from underground inventories — as a real-time check on whether the U.S. market is tightening or loosening. Mild forecasts typically shrink expected withdrawals, keeping pressure on front-month futures.
Front-month U.S. natural gas futures for February delivery were down 20.8 cents, or 5.7%, at $3.41 per million British thermal units by 8:51 a.m. ET. A million British thermal units, or mmBtu, is the standard unit used to price natural gas in the U.S.
“This market is dropping into fresh new low territory this morning,” consultancy Ritterbusch & Associates said, adding that downside risk could extend toward the $3.00 area without weather support. Hellenic Shipping News
Forecasts turned softer even as supply and exports stayed firm. LSEG put average gas output in the U.S. Lower 48 at 109.2 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in January, and said feedgas — gas delivered into liquefaction plants — to the eight big U.S. LNG export facilities averaged 18.8 bcfd, topping December’s record.
LSEG also forecast total U.S. gas demand, including exports, at 133.0 bcfd this week and 134.2 bcfd next week, nudging expectations only slightly higher even as producers run near record output.
Coterra, which has production in the Permian Basin and gas-rich Marcellus and Anadarko basins, said earlier on Monday that Shane Young, its executive vice president and chief financial officer, will participate in a Goldman Sachs Energy, CleanTech & Utilities Conference panel on Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. ET, with a webcast available on the company’s site.
Other gas-exposed names moved with the commodity: Antero Resources (AR.N) was down 3.9% in late trading, Range Resources (RRC.N) slipped 1.8%, and EQT (EQT.N) was little changed, while the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) — an exchange-traded fund designed to track daily natural gas price moves — fell 3.6%.
But the downside case for gas-linked equities is not just weather. Any pullback in LNG feedgas flows or a renewed jump in production could keep inventories comfortable and leave the front end of the curve vulnerable; the flip side is that a sudden cold shift can tighten balances quickly and lift both futures and producer shares.
Next up, traders are watching Coterra’s conference appearance on Tuesday and the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s weekly natural gas storage report due January 8, the next scheduled release, for a clearer read on winter supply and demand.
