NEW YORK, Feb 14, 2026, 12:06 EST — Market closed.
- U.S. natural gas futures closed out Friday at $3.243/mmBtu, dropping roughly 5% for the week.
- EIA data showed a 249 bcf drop, leaving storage stocks 5.5% under the five-year average.
- Traders are watching weekend weather forecasts, LNG export appetite, and eyeing the next storage report coming up Feb. 19.
U.S. natural gas futures slipped over the week, despite a modest rebound Friday. The March front-month contract wrapped up at $3.243 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), gaining 0.8% for the day but finishing down 5.23% over the week. That contract expires Feb. 25.
U.S. markets are closed for the weekend, so traders are watching new weather updates and looking for any moves in early-week liquidity tied to Presidents’ Day. NYMEX natural gas keeps going almost nonstop; the next session starts up Sunday night.
Storage remains a factor. As of Feb. 6, working gas in U.S. storage totaled 2,214 billion cubic feet, following a hefty 249 bcf pull for the week, according to the Energy Information Administration. Inventories now sit 130 bcf under the five-year average.
LNG demand is still holding up, for now. Reuters data puts average flows to the eight major U.S. LNG export terminals at 18.5 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in February—right on par with the record set in December. But analysts are flagging a notable drop in total demand forecasts for next week, with milder weather likely to stick around at least through Feb. 27.
The Permian Basin’s headaches aren’t going away. On Thursday, Waha Hub spot prices in West Texas logged a sixth consecutive day below zero, squeezed by pipeline bottlenecks that continue to mar the country’s top oil region. Local gas piles up, even with tighter balances nationwide.
Don’t expect volatility to disappear just because infrastructure is making progress, one analyst warned. “Prices remain volatile, equities have struggled to find consistent footing and investor sentiment still skews cautious,” wrote Bryce Erickson of Mercer Capital in a recent note. Midland Reporter-Telegram
The holiday is set to disrupt the physical gas market calendar. Platts plans to shift its North American gas publishing for Presidents’ Day: Gas Daily assessments tied to Feb. 14–17 flow dates will hit on Feb. 13, with no new publications coming out on Feb. 16.
CME Clearing noted some tweaks for Presidents’ Day: banks will shut, certain settlements get pushed back, and that often means lighter action around the edges—even if trading desks stay up.
Still, the tape’s not set. A late-February cold snap, freeze-offs in production, or a jump in LNG feedgas might pull balances tighter in a hurry. On the flip side, if the mild weather stretches on and output holds up, the pressure could ease just as quickly.
The next data point arrives Thursday, Feb. 19, when the weekly storage report hits at 10:30 a.m. Eastern, as usual. Markets have an eye on that, especially with holiday-thinned flows and shifting weather outlooks in play.
