NEW YORK, February 5, 2026, 13:41 EST — Regular session
- U.S. natural gas futures nudged up following the release of the latest storage report.
- Traders tracked late-winter weather risks closely while also monitoring LNG export growth.
- Gas-linked stocks showed mixed moves in afternoon trading, as attention zeroed in on LNG exporters.
U.S. natural gas futures edged higher on Thursday, with the March Henry Hub contract gaining roughly 1% to trade near $3.51 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) in early afternoon action.
The market is attempting to recalibrate following a turbulent period: weather spikes pushed demand up, halted some production, then eased just as quickly. Now, traders want to know how much of that strain remains.
LNG exports continue to siphon gas from the domestic market, intensifying the debate over just how “loose” U.S. supply remains after winter ends.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that working gas in storage dropped by 360 billion cubic feet (bcf) for the week ending Jan. 30, landing at 2,463 bcf. This puts inventories 27 bcf shy of the five-year average. The agency noted total working gas stayed within the five-year historical range.
The withdrawal came in smaller than analysts expected. A Reuters poll published Wednesday had forecast an average pull of 374 bcf, while early estimates for the week ending Feb. 6 hovered around a 249 bcf draw, according to the poll.
S&P Global Commodity Insights reported that the late-January storm squeezed fundamentals by about 20 bcf per day at its height, with supply falling and heating demand spiking. “It’s a perfect storm,” Phil Flynn from Price Futures Group told S&P Global in an interview. S&P Global
Sentiment remains volatile. Reuters noted that the March contract soared 140% from Jan. 20 to Jan. 28, then plunged 57% between Jan. 29 and Feb. 2. That rollercoaster sent 30-day futures volatility to new highs.
Cheniere Energy has submitted plans to U.S. regulators to expand its Corpus Christi, Texas facility by 24 million tonnes per annum (mtpa). The company said the project would need around 3.3 billion cubic feet per day of feedgas if it gets the green light. Cheniere is targeting federal approval by May next year and highlighted the move as part of its competition with Venture Global to hit 100 mtpa of U.S. LNG export capacity.
Atmos Energy, a regulated U.S. natural gas utility, posted a 14.5% jump in quarterly profit this week, driven by robust performance in its distribution and pipeline sectors.
Thursday afternoon saw Cheniere shares fall roughly 2%, with producer EQT sliding just under 1%. Venture Global dipped about 1.5%, whereas Atmos nudged up 0.6%, and the U.S. Natural Gas Fund ETF rose close to 0.8%.
Executives continue to highlight how swiftly cash prices can surge when infrastructure faces pressure. Equinor CFO Torgrim Reitan revealed the company had roughly 30% of its U.S. gas tied to spot prices in January, securing “prices of more than $100 per MMBtu” on some sales to the New York region during the spike, Reuters reported. Reuters
The risk scenario is clear: if forecasts remain mild through mid-February and output keeps climbing, traders expect the storage shock to ease quickly, pushing prices back toward the lower end of this month’s range.
The next key data point arrives with the Feb. 12 EIA storage report, which will reveal if another large withdrawal hits as the winter demand window tightens. Updates to weather models and LNG feedgas flows should influence the market in the meantime.
