US natural gas futures jumped about 5% to $3.7/MMBtu on Friday, snapping a five-day losing streak, as LNG export activity started to recover. Gas flows to the eight major US LNG plants averaged 14.2 bcfd in June, still below May’s 15 bcfd and April’s record 16 bcfd, but slightly higher than earlier in the month as some plants resumed operations after maintenance. Also, forecasters expect hotter-than-normal weather across the Lower 48 states through at least July 12, although temperatures likely won’t return to this week’s extreme highs. Supply-wise, gas output averaged 105.6 bcfd in June, up from 105.2 bcfd in May, but still below March’s record of 106.3 bcfd, mainly due to earlier spring pipeline maintenance. Meanwhile, after ten straight weeks of above-average injections into storage, analysts now expect smaller additions this week as utilities used more gas for power generation during the recent heat wave.
