Natural Gas Market Note | 03.26.2026
Natural gas firms following larger-than-expected storage draw.
Natural gas futures pushed higher on Thursday amid relatively quiet trading activity surrounding the EIA storage report. The prompt-month April 2026 contract ended just below $3.00 per MMBtu, up about 5 cents on the day. Gains were more modest further out the curve, with the Summer 2026 strip up just $0.01 and Winter 2026–27 increasing by $0.02 per MMBtu.
The 10:30 a.m. storage report provided the day’s biggest push to the market. The EIA reported a withdrawal of 54 Bcf, bringing inventories to a new seasonal low of 1,829 Bcf. The draw came in above consensus expectations and was bullish relative to both the five-year average for the week and the year-ago net build. Even with the surplus to historical benchmarks narrowing, inventories are set to enter the summer at healthy levels, and mild temperature forecasts remain conducive to a strong start to the injection season.
The prompt-month contract failed to establish momentum above $3.00 resistance and settled at $2.999 per MMBtu. Tomorrow’s price action surrounding the April 2026 contract expiration should provide further clarity on the strength of overhead resistance and may help dictate overall market direction heading into next week.
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