Hot weather, LNG exports drive US natural gas prices up three per cent

Meteorologists slightly reduced their forecasts for hotter weather for this week but continued to project weather across the Lower 48 US states will remain mostly warmer than normal through at least July 29, especially in late July.

Even though the weather has remained above normal so far this summer, analysts expect energy firms to keep injecting more gas into storage than usual in coming weeks. That's because output hit a record high in June and was on track to top that in July, while gas flows to LNG export plants have so far languished since hitting a record in April.

There is currently about six per cent more gas in storage than the five-year (2020-2024) normal, and analysts expect that surplus to grow in coming weeks. Some analysts, however, noted that an expected rise in LNG exports should start to chip away at that surplus later this year.