US natgas futures ease on record output, milder forecasts

Average gas flows to the nine big U.S. LNG export plants rose to 18.3 bcfd so far in September, up from 17.2 bcfd in August. That is still short of the monthly record high of 18.8 bcfd in April.

Freeport LNG's export plant in Texas, however, was on track to pull in around 1.9 bcfd of feedgas on Tuesday, down from an average of 2.1 bcfd over the past five days.

Analysts noted the plant could be reducing feedgas due to Tropical Storm Edouard, which is expected to hit near the Texas-Louisiana coast later on Tuesday. Like other energy firms with facilities in the area, officials at Freeport LNG said the company was monitoring the storm.

The U.S. became the world's biggest LNG exporter in 2023, surpassing Australia and Qatar, as surging global prices fed demand for more low-cost U.S. gas.

Around the world, gas was trading near 43-month highs of around $24 per mmBtu at the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) TRNLTTFMc1 benchmark in Europe and $23 at the Japan-Korea Marker (JKM) JKMc1 benchmark in Asia. NG/EU