Natural Gas Market Note | 02.24.2026
March futures drift further below $3.00 on the eve of expiration.
Natural gas futures pushed lower today, with the March 2026 contract posting its lowest daily settlement since mid-January on its second-to-last day of trading. After failing to rally yesterday amid the near-term cold snap impacting the East, March breached key $3.00 support and today showed its first signs of downward momentum south of that benchmark. The Summer 2026 strip gave up ground as well, trading 8 cents lower on the day to finish at $3.18 per MMBtu. That strip varies significantly by month, with April trading near $2.85 per MMBtu and peak summer contracts near or above $3.40 per MMBtu.
Today marked the lowest daily settlement for any prompt-month contract since September, as the market continues to settle down from the extreme January volatility. Cold temperatures are expected to linger over parts of the Northeast deep into the 10-day period, but the rest of the country is expected to be exceptionally mild, which should help limit overall natural gas demand and promote light withdrawals as winter draws to a close. The 8–14-day period, which stretches from March 4–10, currently shows no areas of cooler-than-normal weather, with virtually the entire U.S. blanketed in unseasonable warmth.
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