Natural Gas Market Note | 07.13.2026
Prompt-month futures down for the fourth straight day.
Natural gas prices remained under pressure to start the week, with losses concentrated at the front of the curve. The August 2026 contract fell another 4 cents to $2.90 per MMBtu, extending its week-over-week decline to $0.35. Balance-of-summer pricing posted a similar move, while the winter and longer-dated strips were modestly higher. The steep drop in near-term pricing reflects a market that continues to discount summer risk amid comfortable storage levels, softer LNG feedgas demand and limited evidence of sustained weather-driven tightening.
Temperatures are expected to briefly warm to extremes across the Midwest and East this week, but the heat does not appear likely to linger. Forecasts turn cooler again beyond the near-term window, reducing the chances of an extended surge in cooling demand. With Freeport LNG maintenance also weighing on feedgas demand and inventories maintaining a healthy surplus to the five-year average, the market remains firmly focused on increasingly loose near-term fundamentals.
An archive of Daily Natural Gas Market Notes can be found here.