New York, January 21, 2026, 13:56 EST — during the regular session
- Henry Hub February natural gas futures climbed roughly 22% to around $4.76 per mmBtu following Tuesday’s sharp surge
- Shares of gas producers EQT and Range climbed, while Kinder Morgan and Cheniere also saw gains
- Traders are zeroing in on late-January weather forecasts and the U.S. storage report due Thursday
U.S. natural gas futures surged further Wednesday, driven by volatile weather patterns. The Henry Hub February contract jumped 84.8 cents, roughly 22%, to $4.755 per million British thermal units (mmBtu). A forecaster quoted by Barchart warned of “major Arctic cold outbreaks” expected late this week and into next. (Barchart)
This shift is crucial since winter gas demand can spike abruptly. A chillier outlook boosts heating needs, strains storage, and pushes utilities and traders to shell out more for immediate supply. It often hits U.S. gas producer stocks too, which had been trailing after benchmark prices dropped earlier.
Analysts highlighted positioning as a key factor. Ole R. Hvalbye, commodities analyst at SEB, noted that “the weather premium has kicked in hard.” Phil Flynn from Price Futures Group cautioned that the cold snap “is threatening to shut down production and create big inventory draws.” Hvalbye estimated Lower-48 dry gas output at roughly 110.5 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d). Meanwhile, Eli Rubin of EBW Analytics pointed to short-covering following Tuesday’s February settlement at $3.907, marking the contract’s largest single-day jump since 2022. (Rigzone)
Natural gas-linked stocks climbed alongside the commodity. EQT surged roughly 6%, Range Resources added close to 4%, Kinder Morgan ticked up about 2%, and LNG exporter Cheniere edged higher by around 1%.
UBS reaffirmed its Buy rating on EQT and maintained a $76 price target ahead of the producer’s Q4 results, set for release on February 18, according to Investing.
Looking ahead, traders remain cautious about a supply picture that seems less constrained beyond the peak winter period. Global LNG output is poised to surge in 2026 as new capacity comes online in the United States and Qatar. Several analysts predict these added volumes will weigh on prices and compress export margins, according to a Reuters report. (Reuters)
That said, the tape can flip just as fast in the opposite direction. Should weather models ease up on the cold forecast, or if production drops turn out to be short-lived, the squeeze could unwind sharply, sending prices tumbling as quickly as they climbed. Unexpected outages or slowdowns at LNG plants would also reduce demand for “feedgas” — the pipeline gas used for liquefied natural gas production — cooling off the rally.
Volatility is driving the action for now. Traders are focused on any freeze-offs in producing areas and whether upcoming model updates maintain the cold over the Midwest and Northeast.
Thursday’s weekly U.S. natural gas storage report from the Energy Information Administration is the next key event, due January 22. Traders rely on it to track how fast winter inventories are declining. (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
