By Scott DiSavino
U.S. natural gas futures climbed about 2% to a one-week high on Friday with flows to liquefied natural gas export plants back near record highs on the expected return to full service of Freeport LNG’s plant in Texas and on a planned jump in demand in two weeks with the coming of some colder-than-normal weather.
Front-month gas futures for December delivery 
NG1! on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 10.6 cents, or 2.4%, to settle at $4.580 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), their highest close since November 13.
That put the front-month up about 0.3% for the week, marking the first time prices have increased for five weeks in a row since November 2024. During those five weeks, the contract has gained about 52%.
Looking ahead, the premium of futures for January over December (NGZ25-F26) fell to around 16 cents per mmBtu, its lowest since September 2022.
SUPPLY AND DEMAND
LSEG said average gas output in the Lower 48 states rose to 109.4 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in November, up from 107.4 bcfd in October and a record monthly high of 108.3 bcfd in August.
Record output so far this year has allowed energy companies to stockpile more gas than usual. There was about 5% more gas in storage than normal for this time of year.
Meteorologists forecast temperatures across the country will remain warmer than normal through December 6 with some colder-than-normal days around November 28-29 and December 3-5.
LSEG projected average gas demand in the Lower 48 states, including exports, would rise from 118.8 bcfd this week to 119.7 bcfd next week and 131.3 bcfd in two weeks. The forecasts for this week and next were higher than LSEG’s outlook on Thursday.
The average amount of gas flowing to the eight big LNG export plants operating in the U.S. rose to 18.0 bcfd so far in November, up from a record 16.6 bcfd in October.
In LNG export news, Freeport LNG’s plant in Texas was on track to take in more gas on Friday in a sign that one of its three liquefaction trains returned to service after shutting down on Thursday.
Elsewhere, the Imsaikah LNG vessel continued to move across the Atlantic Ocean to Exxon Mobil 
XOM/QatarEnergy’s 2.4-bcfd Golden Pass LNG export plant under construction in Texas, according to LSEG data and analysts’ comments.
The ship, expected to arrive at Golden Pass around November 29, is carrying LNG from Qatar that traders and analysts say will be used to cool equipment as part of the commissioning of the plant. The facility is expected to start producing LNG later this year or early next year.
The United States became the world’s biggest LNG producer in 2023, surpassing Australia and Qatar, as surging global prices fed demand for more exports, due in part to supply disruptions and sanctions linked to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Around the world, gas was trading at a 15-month low of about $10 per mmBtu at the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) (TRNLTTFMc1) benchmark in Europe, but at a three-month high near $12 at the Japan Korea Marker (JKM) (JKMc1) benchmark in Asia.
Week ended Nov 21 Forecast
Week ended Nov 14 Actual
Year ago Nov 21
Five-year average Nov 21
U.S. weekly natgas storage change (bcf):
+3
-14
-2
-25
U.S. total natgas in storage (bcf):
3,949
3,946
3,967
3,775
U.S. total storage versus 5-year average
+4.6%
+3.8%
Global Gas Benchmark Futures ($ per mmBtu)
Current Day
Prior Day
This Month Last Year
Prior Year Average 2024
Five-Year Average (2019-2023)
Henry Hub NG1!
4.53
4.47
2.98
2.41
3.52
Title Transfer Facility (TTF) (TRNLTTFMc1)
10.27
10.38
13.89
10.95
15.47
Japan-Korea Marker (JKM) (JKMc1)
11.71
11.54
14.12
11.89
15.23
LSEG Heating (HDD), Cooling (CDD) and Total (TDD) Degree Days
Two-Week Total Forecast
Current Day
Prior Day
Prior Year
10-Year Norm
30-Year Norm
U.S. Global Forecast System (GFS) HDDs
318
317
298
312
337
U.S. GFS CDDs
11
11
7
9
7
U.S. GFS TDDs
329
328
305
321
344
LSEG U.S. Weekly GFS Supply and Demand Forecasts
Prior Week
Current Week
Next Week
This Week Last Year
Five-Year (2020-2024) Average For Month
U.S. Supply (bcfd)
U.S. Lower 48 Dry Production
109.4
109.0
109.3
102.7
99.2
U.S. Imports from Canada
8.4
8.7
8.3
N/A
8.1
U.S. LNG Imports
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
Total U.S. Supply
117.7
117.7
117.6
N/A
107.3
U.S. Demand (bcfd)
U.S. Exports to Canada
2.6
3.0
3.0
N/A
2.9
U.S. Exports to Mexico
6.3
6.0
6.3
N/A
5.7
U.S. LNG Export Feedgas
18.3
18.4
18.3
13.9
12.2
U.S. Commercial
11.6
10.9
11.6
10.8
11.0
U.S. Residential
17.2
16.2
17.7
16.4
15.7
U.S. Power Plant
30.8
32.8
30.9
31.9
30.0
U.S. Industrial
24.1
23.6
23.9
23.8
24.2
U.S. Plant Fuel
5.4
5.4
5.4
5.4
5.3
U.S. Pipe Distribution
2.4
2.4
2.5
2.4
3.3
U.S. Vehicle Fuel
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.2
Total U.S. Consumption
91.7
91.4
92.1
90.8
89.7
Total U.S. Demand
118.9
118.8
119.7
N/A
110.5
N/A = Not Available
U.S. Northwest River Forecast Center (NWRFC) at The Dalles Dam (Fiscal year ending Sep 30)
2026 Current Day % of Normal Forecast
2026 Prior Day % of Normal Forecast
2025 % of Normal Actual
2024
% of Normal Actual
2023
% of Normal Actual
Apr-Sep
88
89
76
74
83
Jan-Jul
85
86
78
76
77
Oct-Sep
86
87
80
77
76
U.S. weekly power generation percent by fuel – EIA
Week ended Nov 21
Week ended Nov 14
2024
2023
2022
Wind
12
14
11
10
11
Solar
5
6
5
4
3
Hydro
5
5
6
6
6
Other
1
1
1
2
2
Petroleum
0
0
0
0
0
Natural Gas
39
37
42
41
38
Coal
17
17
16
17
21
Nuclear
20
20
19
19
19
SNL U.S. Natural Gas Next-Day Prices ($ per mmBtu)
Hub
Current Day
Prior Day
This Month Last Year
Prior Year Average 2024
Five-Year Average (2019-2023)
Henry Hub (NG-W-HH-SNL)
3.97
3.94
2.10
2.19
3.49
Transco Z6 New York (NG-CG-NY-SNL)
3.66
3.66
1.99
1.98
3.29
PG&E Citygate (NG-CG-PGE-SNL)
4.17
4.16
3.29
3.04
5.47
Eastern Gas (old Dominion South) (NG-PCN-APP-SNL)
3.58
3.55
1.83
1.68
2.77
Chicago Citygate (NG-CG-CH-SNL)
3.79
3.69
1.98
2.00
3.41
Algonquin Citygate (NG-CG-BS-SNL)
4.72
4.79
2.70
2.88
4.27
SoCal Citygate (NG-SCL-CGT-SNL)
4.00
4.12
2.55
2.47
5.92
Waha Hub (NG-WAH-WTX-SNL)
1.00
0.67
0.33
0.77
2.91
AECO (NG-ASH-ALB-SNL)
1.76
1.91
0.98
0.96
2.28
ICE U.S. Power Next-Day Prices ($ per megawatt-hour)
Hub
Current Day
Prior Day
This Month Last Year
Prior Year Average 2024
Five-Year Average (2019-2023)
New England (E-NEPLMHP-IDX)
67.55
79.14
44.71
47.35
48.44
PJM West (E-PJWHRTP-IX)
63.71
71.44
35.99
41.98
45.33
Mid C (W-MIDCP-IDX)
45.69
55.21
37.13
63.89
61.73
Palo Verde (W-PVP-IDX)
39.90
46.50
29.23
39.50
62.42
SP-15 (W-SP15-IDX)
44.70
47.39
30.01
31.30
58.87