During its first day at the front of the futures curve, the December 2026 NYMEX contract led a broader decline. December gave up 8 cents to settle near $2.95 per MMBtu before retreating toward intraday lows below $2.90 per MMBtu in after-hours trading. The balance-of-winter strip (Dec26-Mar27) lost 7 cents to settle below $3.00 per MMBtu, marking a five-year low for the four-month package. Losses were less pronounced further out the curve, with Summer 2027 and Winter 2027-28 each shedding 3 cents on the day.
Following a rally into the November expiration yesterday afternoon, bearish sentiment appears to be re-emerging against a backdrop of unsupportive temperature forecasts. Today’s storage report reinforced that sentiment, with the 80-Bcf build exceeding both the five-year average and the year-ago injection. The report broke a streak of 10 consecutive weeks in which storage inventories grew at a slower-than-average pace. With forecasts calling for reduced heating demand well into November, inventories now have a runway to potentially reach 3.9 Tcf, virtually erasing the deficit to year-ago levels in the process.
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