American natural gas futures rose by around 1% on Thursday due to expectations of higher-than-expected demand next week.

This slight price change comes ahead of the publication of a federal report that should show that utilities added less gas to storage last week than usual for a 13th week in a row.

This is because many producers cut back on drilling activities earlier this year after average monthly spot prices at the American Henry Hub reference center in Louisiana fell to their lowest level in 32 years in March. Prices have remained relatively low since then.

Analysts predict that American utilities added 77 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas to their inventories during the week ending October 11. This compares to an increase of 93 bcf in the same week last year and an average increase over five years (2019-2023) of 89 bcf for this time of

If true, gas stocks will be around 5% higher than normal for this time of year.

Gas futures for November delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 2.1 cents, or 0.9%, to $2.388 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) at 8:30am EDT (12:30 GMT) to $2.388 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) at 8:30am EDT (12:30 GMT). On Wednesday, the contract closed at its lowest level since September 19. Despite this slight gain, the gas futures contract for delivery in November was on track to remain in technically oversold territory for a second day in a row, for the first time since July

The financial group LSEG said that average gas production in the 48 contiguous states of the United States had fallen to 101.3 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in October from 101.8 bcfd in September. This figure can be compared to the record of 105.5 bcfd reached in

Meteorologists predict that the weather in the 48 contiguous states will generally remain warmer than normal until November 1.