New York, February 27, 2026, 13:10 EST — Regular session
- NYMEX April natural gas added roughly 4 cents, trading at $2.866 per mmBtu around midday.
- After Thursday’s storage data, U.S. gas inventories have nearly caught up with the five-year average.
- March weather patterns, LNG export movements, and the upcoming March 5 storage figures are all on traders’ radar.
U.S. natural gas futures were trading up Friday, with the NYMEX April contract adding 3.9 cents, or roughly 1.4%, to reach $2.866 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) by midday in New York.
Traders are watching to see if winter has really finished with the market after this bounce. Gas is drifting into the spring “shoulder season”—that stretch between heating and cooling demand—where even modest shifts in weather or exports can jolt prices sharply.
Storage figures out Thursday narrowed the focus on inventories, while policy headlines made sure liquefied natural gas stayed on everyone’s radar. That mix has traders weighing weaker demand prospects against the chance of another cold snap in March.
Working gas in storage fell to 2,018 billion cubic feet for the week ending Feb. 20, according to the Energy Information Administration—a 52 bcf drop from the previous week. Supplies are running 141 bcf above levels seen a year earlier, yet still lag the five-year average by 7 bcf, the EIA noted.
After the report, prices lost ground. The April contract dropped 4.1 cents, closing at $2.827 on Thursday, industry pricing data show.
Friday’s action saw traders once again eyeing the weather. With a colder streak in some outlooks and LNG feedgas intake staying robust, the prompt contract found support; export plant flows are still hovering close to records, according to market monitors.
Washington rolled out a new LNG benchmark as well. The U.S. Energy Department signed off on about a 12% boost in export volumes from Cheniere Energy’s Corpus Christi Stage 3 facility. “This order helps further strengthen America’s LNG export capacity,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said. Reuters
Cheniere, America’s top LNG producer, raised its share buyback goal above $10 billion through 2030 this week and is looking at a record 51 to 52 million metric tons in exports for 2026 as more trains come online, according to the company.
Energy stocks put in a solid showing. Oil climbed nearly 3% Friday, with traders pointing to renewed supply concerns after U.S.-Iran negotiations—an uptick that tends to color gas sentiment, even though gas usually trades off its own weather and storage dynamics.
The downside’s hard to miss here. Should early March temperatures remain on the mild side and supplies continue as they are, that storage shortfall may vanish fast. The market could then be left pushing barrels of gas into a period of weaker demand, likely sending prices lower again.
The market is watching for the upcoming storage figures, with another set of weather model updates due as well. The EIA’s next weekly natural gas storage report lands Thursday, March 5.
