NEW YORK: US natural gas futures rose over 10% on Monday, regaining ground after slumping to a more than 25-year low the previous session, as forecasts for warmer weather drove expectations of higher cooling demand for the fuel.
In its first day as the front month, gas futures for August delivery rose 16.5 cents, or 10.7%, to settle at $1.709 per million British thermal units (mmBtu). Prices had earlier touched their highest since June 15 at $1.753.
US natural gas futures slumped to their lowest since August 1995 in the previous session as the market focused on demand destruction from the coronavirus, swelling stockpiles and lower liquefied natural gas exports earlier in the month.
"With temperatures going up, cooling demand has increased and forecasts say they will continue to increase. Along with that, Chesapeake's restructuring has also signaled some drop in supply," said Phil Flynn, Price Futures Group senior market analyst.
Chesapeake Energy filed for Chapter 11 on Sunday, becoming the largest US oil and gas producer to seek bankruptcy protection in recent years as it bowed to heavy debts and the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on energy markets.
Refinitiv data indicated 222 cooling degree days (CDDs) in the lower 48 states over the next two weeks. The normal is 190 CDDs for this time of year.
Prolonged lockdowns to curb the spread of coronavirus have kept many US businesses shut, curbing LNG demand. LNG exports have also fallen, dropping by half since the start of 2020, with burgeoning stockpiles expected to reach a record 4.1 trillion cubic feet by the end of October.
Refinitiv said production in the Lower 48 US states averaged 87.8 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in June, down from a 16-month low of 88.2 bcfd in May and an all-time monthly high of 95.4 bcfd in November.
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