New York, Jan 30, 2026, 10:20 EST — Regular session
- U.S. Henry Hub natural gas futures jumped roughly 4% in morning trading
- Traders zeroed in on Freeport LNG shipments and ongoing production hiccups following the Arctic blast
- Bulls and bears are eyeing the federal storage report due Feb. 5 as the next key milestone.
U.S. natural gas futures pushed higher on Friday, capping a week marked by swings as traders weighed LNG export demand against how quickly supply bounced back after the winter storm. The front-month contract for March delivery gained 16.3 cents, or 4.2%, reaching $4.081 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) in early New York trading. (Investing)
The shift followed a turbulent contract rollover that made the market jittery and occasionally thin. Sprague Energy reported the February contract closed at $7.460 on Wednesday, after spiking to $7.827 intraday. Meanwhile, the March contract finished the day at $3.732. (Sprague Energy)
On Thursday, Sprague reported March settled at $3.918 following a volatile session, with traders “still processing” last week’s fluctuations. The firm also noted working gas in storage at 2,823 billion cubic feet (Bcf) after the latest report, surpassing both year-ago figures and the five-year average. (Sprague Energy)
Friday saw another jump after Freeport LNG’s Texas export facility appeared ready to boost feedgas intake—a key output indicator. LSEG flow data revealed intake climbing back to roughly 1.8 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd), up from 1.5 bcfd on Thursday, when a compressor glitch took one of its three liquefaction trains offline, according to Reuters. European gas prices dipped by about 1% on the news, the report noted. (Reuters)
Supply hasn’t fully recovered yet. U.S. natural gas output dropped roughly 6.1 bcfd on Thursday, down from a peak loss of 18.1 bcfd on Monday, according to consultancy Wood Mackenzie. Freeze-offs and storm disruptions are easing, but only slowly, Reuters reported. (Reuters)
Storage figures revealed the cold snap’s intense strain on supplies. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a 242 Bcf draw for the week, slightly above the 237 Bcf forecast and sharply higher than the 120 Bcf pull from the previous week, according to Investing.com’s economic calendar. The next update arrives Feb. 5. (Investing)
The storm triggered unusual trade flows that squeezed the domestic market and threw LNG logistics into chaos. Multiple LNG firms brought cargoes into the U.S. to take advantage of record spot prices during the freeze, Reuters reported. Jason Feer of Poten & Partners described it as “extraordinary” for the world’s top LNG exporter to actually import cargoes. (Reuters)
Friday’s bounce hasn’t settled the bigger debate. Traders warned that if temperatures cool off quicker than expected, output ramps up, and pipeline bottlenecks clear, the market that surged this week could just as easily pull back sharply.
The next hurdle is clear: will LNG feedgas remain high into next week? And will Thursday’s Feb. 5 storage report reveal another sharp drawdown following the storm-fueled demand surge?
