Natural gas futures surged on Thursday, with the prompt-month October 2026 contract jumping 27 cents to settle near $3.30 per MMBtu, the largest one-day increase for benchmark futures since January. The move extended a sharp rally that has now pushed October up 40 cents over the past week and nearly 50 cents over the past month. Strength was concentrated at the front of the curve, though Winter 2026-27 also posted a sizable $0.16 gain to finish near $3.54 per MMBtu, while moves further out were much more subdued.
The rally was supported by a combination of tightening storage trends and an unexpected pipeline disruption. This morning’s 53-Bcf storage build came in below historical norms for a sixth consecutive week, further widening the year-over-year inventory deficit and shrinking the surplus to the five-year average. Adding fuel to the move, TCO declared force majeure following a mechanical issue on its Mountaineer XPress system in West Virginia, effectively stranding 1.8 Bcf per day of Appalachian production from the broader market. The outage could last as long as a month, which would tighten balances just as weather-related demand is finally starting to subside.
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