New York, Feb 18, 2026, 16:40 EST — After-hours
- Henry Hub natural gas futures fell 3.3% to $2.931 per mmBtu.
- EQT finished higher after topping profit estimates and outlining 2026 production and spending plans.
- Traders turn to Thursday’s U.S. storage report and late-February temperature outlooks.
U.S. natural gas futures slid on Wednesday, knocking the March Henry Hub contract down 10 cents, or 3.3%, to $2.931 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), a standard heat unit used to price gas. (CME Group)
The dip matters because the market is now trading the end of winter, not the start of it. The National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center said its latest 6–10 day and 8–14 day outlooks point to a shifting pattern as the calendar turns toward late February and early March. (Climate Prediction Center)
Gas-linked equities were mixed. EQT rose 1.5% to $58.63, while Antero Resources gained 0.7% and Range Resources added 2.2%; Expand Energy fell 3.2%. The U.S. Natural Gas Fund ETF (UNG), a popular retail proxy for front-month gas futures, eased 0.2%.
EQT, the biggest U.S. natural gas producer, beat Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter adjusted profit and guided to 2026 production of 2,275-2,375 billion cubic feet equivalent (Bcfe). CEO Toby Rice said Winter Storm Fern created “extremely challenging weather conditions,” but had “negligible impact” on EQT’s production. (Reuters)
In its earnings release, EQT projected about $3.5 billion of 2026 free cash flow at recent “strip” pricing — the average of futures prices across upcoming months — and said it boosted 2026 hedging to 25% using collars, which set a floor and ceiling price. Rice said the company “delivered outstanding performance across the board” in 2025. (PR Newswire)
Elsewhere in the sector, Expand Energy said it plans at least $1 billion of debt reduction in 2026 as it benefits from higher realized gas prices and higher production versus a year earlier. (Reuters)
Beyond weather, the demand story is still sitting in the background. Reuters reported on Wednesday that U.S. LNG exporters consumed 5,000 billion cubic feet of natural gas in January-November 2025, tightening supplies and putting exports in the frame of a domestic cost-of-living debate. (Reuters)
Supply is the other side of that equation, and it is not going away. The U.S. Energy Information Administration expects U.S. marketed gas production to hit fresh records in 2026 and 2027, led by output from the Permian, Appalachia and Haynesville. (Midland Reporter-Telegram)
Still, the path is rarely straight. A colder turn late in the season can force bigger storage draws, and freeze-offs can pinch production in key basins; either would flip the narrative fast and push volatility back into the front of the curve.
Next up is Thursday’s weekly U.S. natural gas storage report at 10:30 a.m. Eastern time, a release that often sets the tone into the end of the week. (EIA Information Releases)
