On Tuesday, February Nymex natural gas (NGG26) closed up by 2.26%, but prices remained below Monday’s 3.25-year high, largely due to long liquidation pressures as weather forecasts turned warmer, according to the Commodity Weather Group. This week, about 50 billion cubic feet of natural gas were offline due to cold weather disruptions, which accounted for 15% of total U.S. production.
As of Tuesday, U.S. dry gas production was at 96.8 billion cubic feet per day, down 6.6% year-over-year, while demand increased by 26.7% year-over-year to 135.2 billion cubic feet per day. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has cut its 2026 production forecast to 107.4 billion cubic feet per day. Despite some supportive data, recent electricity output fell 13.15% year-over-year, and natural gas inventories were 6.0% higher than last year, indicating ample supplies.
Currently, the number of active U.S. natural gas drilling rigs stands at 122, remaining below the recent high of 130. The total number of rigs has increased from a four-and-a-half-year low of 94 reported in September 2024.
