New York, Jan 16, 2026, 17:21 EST — After-hours
- Henry Hub February futures ended down about 0.6% at $3.109 per mmBtu; the session range was $3.021-$3.230
- UNG was up about 0.3% late, while EQT and Cheniere Energy traded higher into after-hours
- Traders are watching late-January temperature shifts, LNG feedgas flows and the next U.S. storage report
U.S. natural gas futures ended lower on Friday, with the front-month contract closing down 1.9 cents, or 0.6%, at $3.109 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), a standard energy unit. The contract traded as low as $3.021 during the session.
That leaves prices near their weakest levels since mid-October as the market tries to weigh cold shots against a winter that has not drawn down inventories much. LSEG put Lower 48 output at 109.1 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in January and projected demand, including exports, rising next week, though its outlook eased from Thursday. Average flows to major U.S. LNG export plants slipped to 18.4 bcfd this month, and West Texas cash prices at Waha stayed below zero again on pipeline constraints; Mitsubishi agreed to buy Aethon Energy Management’s U.S. shale production and infrastructure assets for $7.53 billion.
Government data still shows a cushion. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said net withdrawals from storage were 71 billion cubic feet (Bcf) for the week ended Jan. 9, leaving working gas at 3,185 Bcf — 106 Bcf above the five-year average and 33 Bcf above a year earlier.
The slide follows a sharp midweek drop tied to exports. Front-month futures sank about 7% on Wednesday as preliminary feedgas — the natural gas delivered to liquefaction plants for export — dipped on the day, including declines at Freeport LNG and Cheniere’s Corpus Christi facility, a Reuters report showed. Meteorologists also flagged the coldest stretch around Jan. 17-21, spanning the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend in the United States.
Outside the U.S., higher spot LNG prices have offered some support to the export story. Asia spot LNG for March delivery rose to $10.10 per mmBtu, and Energy Aspects analyst Kesher Sumeet said the colder outlook across Northeast Asia and Europe “tighten[ed] market fundamentals,” with heating degree days — a gauge of weather-driven heating demand — expected to run above the 10-year average from Jan. 21 and peak on Jan. 23. Reuters
Gas-linked trading vehicles were steadier than the commodity. The United States Natural Gas Fund, an ETF that tracks U.S. gas futures, was up about 0.3% late, while EQT traded up about 1.2% and Cheniere Energy added about 2.0%.
Equities do not always mirror the front-month tick-for-tick. Many producers hedge output, and LNG exporters tend to trade off global spreads and contract volumes as much as Henry Hub moves.
The risk for bulls is simple: if forecasts warm again or export feedgas stays choppy, the storage surplus can widen fast and drag prices back toward recent lows. A production rebound would do the same.
Next week, the market will key on weather model swings for late January, any updates on Texas LNG plant flows, and the next U.S. storage report due Thursday, Jan. 22.
