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US Natural Gas Update: Futures Rise Amid Dropping Output, Bullish Weather Forecasts

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-- US natural gas futures witnessed a sharp rally on Monday, as falling output and bullish near-term weather forecasts provided support.

The front-month Henry Hub contract, along with the continuous contract, were up 2.97% to $2.59 per million British thermal units.

US domestic natural gas output is down by 4.1 billion cubic feet per day over the past 18 days, hitting an 11-week low of 108.1 bcfd, according to TradingEconomics, which attributed this to major producers such as EQT Corp. (EQT) scaling back output in response to lower prices.

At the same time, imports from Canada dropped from 5.5 bcf per day, to 4.7 bcf per day, even as demand remained relatively flat at 102 bcf per day, according to NRG Energy.

Meanwhile, LNG feedgas flows have continued to hover near record-highs at 18.9 bcf, with more LNG capacity set to come online over the next few months.

Weather forecasts have turned bullish in recent days, with more than half of the country, across the central and eastern regions, expected to see below normal temperatures from May 4 to May 10, according to the National Weather Service.

Price: $60.68, Change: $+1.77, Percent Change: +3.00%

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