US natgas futures ease to 13-week low on small increase in output, lower demand forecast

Adds latest prices

By Scott DiSavino

NEW YORK, Jan 16 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures eased to a 13-week low on Friday on a small increase in daily output, ample amounts of gas in storage and lowered forecasts for heating demand next week.

Front-month gas futures for February delivery NGc1 on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 2.5 cents, or 0.8%, to settle at $3.103 per million British thermal units, their lowest close since October 17.

That also put the contract down for a third week in a row for the first time since September, losing 29% during that time.

In other news, Japanese trading house Mitsubishi 8058.T will buy the U.S. shale production and infrastructure assets of privately-held Aethon Energy Management for $7.53 billion.

The White House on Friday urged PJM, the largest U.S. electric grid, to conduct an emergency power auction to protect against rolling blackouts as energy demand from data centers grows faster than the country can build new generation plants.

In the cash gas market, average prices at the Waha Hub in the Permian Shale in West Texas remained in negative territory for a fourth day in a row and the seventh time this year as pipeline constraints trapped gas in the nation's biggest oil-producing basin.

Waha prices have averaged a negative 32 cents per mmBtu so far this year, compared with $1.15 in 2025 and a five-year average (2021-2025) of $2.88.

Daily Waha prices first settled below zero in 2019. They did so 17 times in 2019, six times in 2020, once in 2023, a record 49 times in 2024, and 39 times in 2025.

SUPPLY AND DEMAND

Financial firm LSEG said average gas output in the Lower 48 states slid to 109.1 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in January from a monthly record high of 109.7 bcfd in December.

Meteorologists projected weather across the country would remain mostly colder than normal through January 31.

Near-record production and mostly mild weather have allowed energy firms to pull slightly less gas from storage than usual so far this winter, leaving stockpiles about 6% above normal for this time of year. EIA/GAS NGAS/POLL

LSEG projected average gas demand in the Lower 48 states, including exports, would rise from 136.4 bcfd this week to 149.2 bcfd next week and 151.5 bcfd in two weeks. The forecast for next week was lower than LSEG's outlook on Thursday.

Average gas flows to the eight large U.S. LNG export plants slid to 18.4 bcfd so far in January on reductions at facilities in Texas, including Freeport LNG's 2.4-bcfd plant, down from a monthly record high of 18.5 bcfd in December.

The U.S. became the world's biggest LNG exporter in 2023, surpassing Australia and Qatar, as surging global prices fed demand for more low-cost U.S. gas, due in part to supply disruptions and sanctions linked to Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Gas was trading around a five-month high of $12 per mmBtu at the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) TRNLTTFMc1 benchmark in Europe, and a one-month high of around $10 at the Japan-Korea Marker (JKM) JKMc1 benchmark in Asia. NG/EU

(Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Nia Williams and David Gregorio)

((scott.disavino@thomsonreuters.com; +1 332 219 1922; Reuters Messaging: scott.disavino.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net/))