Natural Gas Market Note | 03.09.2026
Futures reverse sharply from intraday highs to finish Monday lower.
Natural gas kicked off the week with a volatile trading session. The market gapped sharply higher at open on Sunday evening before firming further in overnight trade. However, throughout Monday’s session, benchmark futures steadily gave up gains before ultimately turning lower on the day. The April 2026 NYMEX contract posted an intraday high just below $3.50 before settling at $3.12 per MMBtu — down 7 cents on the day. Prices continued to push lower in afterhours trading, with the front of the curve trading to an intraday low south of $3.05 per MMBtu.
Losses were even more pronounced further out the curve. The Winter 2026-27 strip outpaced nearby contracts last week and proceeded to fall more sharply today. January 2027, which was as high as $5.58 per MMBtu overnight, was down more than 30 cents from Friday’s settlement at one point Monday afternoon, trading firmly back below the $5.00 level.
While not correlated in a broader sense, today’s price action in the natural gas market closely mirrored crude oil. Benchmark WTI futures hit a multi-year high near $119.50 per barrel early in the trading session before ultimately plunging back below $90 per barrel by the time of this writing.
As discussed last week, U.S. natural gas market fundamentals remain mostly insulated from the global supply crunch. With LNG exports capped, solid inventories and mild shoulder season weather on the horizon, there are no direct bullish catalysts that would justify a major rally in NYMEX futures. However, as illustrated by today’s price action, the market is still at risk of being swept up in overall bullish sentiment and can still be subject to potentially irrational price swings.
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