Natural Gas Market Note | 06.01.2026
Summer futures give up some of last week's gains.
Natural gas futures were mixed on Monday, with weakness concentrated at the very front of the curve while deferred contracts were little changed to slightly higher. The July 2026 contract gave up 11 cents to finish near $3.18 per MMBtu, while the balance of summer lost about 10 cents to settle near $3.20. Despite the softer daily move, summer contracts remain higher on the week and month, showing that today’s pullback did not fully erase the recent upside momentum.
The rest of the curve was more stable. Winter 2026–27 slipped just a penny on the day but remains up 14 cents on the week, while Winter 2027–28 actually added a penny and continues to hold near $4.09 per MMBtu. That split reinforces the recent theme of near-term volatility around summer weather and prompt-month positioning, while the market continues to preserve a meaningful premium in the winter strips.
Weather forecasts were little changed from Friday, with no obvious fundamental catalyst behind the move lower. Temperatures are starting to warm across key consuming regions, which should begin to lift cooling demand as the market moves deeper into June. Given the recent rally across the front of the curve, today’s weakness looks more like a near-term correction than a meaningful shift in the fundamental backdrop.
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