U.S. natural gas futures fell 4.6% to $3.146 per million British thermal units on Friday as forecasts showed demand falling to 102.8 billion cubic feet per day next week and the Mountaineer Xpress pipeline repair appeared likely to be completed soon. The front-month contract remained on track for an approximately 8% weekly gain.
October natural gas futures fell 15.1 cents to $3.146 per million British thermal units on Friday, after rising 9% on Thursday. The contract was still up about 8% for the week; November futures fell about 5% to $3.19.
TC Energy said Columbia Gas crews were working to address a mechanical issue affecting about 1.4 billion to 1.8 billion cubic feet per day of flows on the Mountaineer Xpress pipeline in West Virginia. The company said it would provide customers another update on Sunday. LSEG forecast Lower 48 demand, including exports, would drop from 108.0 billion cubic feet per day this week to 102.8 billion next week.
Analysts estimated that U.S. gas storage stood 2.4% above its five-year average for the week ended September 25, down from 2.9% the prior week. The estimate ahead of the next Thursday’s federal inventory report was a 65-billion-cubic-foot storage increase.
