**Natural Gas Prices Recover After Recent Decline**
On Friday, January Nymex natural gas futures closed at $4.00, an increase of 0.076 (+1.94%), marking a recovery from a seven-week low. This uptick follows a period of sharp declines in prices since reaching a three-year high of $6.44 on December 5, primarily driven by warmer weather reducing heating demand.
As of now, U.S. natural gas production is near record levels, reported at 1,123.9 bcf/day on Friday, which is an 8.8% increase year-over-year. Current inventory levels show a decline of 1.2% compared to last year, with 68% of Europe’s gas storage reported full as of December 17. According to the EIA, active U.S. natural gas drilling rigs remain stable at 127, just below a two-year high.
