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U.S. natural gas futures rallied last week and fell 11% on Monday after forecasts of warmer weather in the U.S. weighed on demand.
Prices were also hurt by the slow recovery Freeport liquefied natural gas export.
Analysts said the market had made “unrealistic” expectations of higher temperatures this month and the resumption of Freeport LNG.
The Nymex natural gas forward month (NG1:COM) for January delivery has closed -11.2% to $5.577/MMBtu, the contract’s sixth loss in the past seven sessions.
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The latest drop leaves the Henry Hub market down nearly 40% from the 14-year high near $10/mmBtu reached earlier this year.
US gas producer EQT Corp. (NYSE: EQT) closed on Monday -7.1% after JP Morgan dropped its stock from the Analyst Focus List following recent gains; a request for information from the US Federal Trade Commission related to its proposed $5.2B purchase of THQ Appalachia I LLC raises questions about whether the deal will be completed.
Other natural gas producers also fell sharply on Monday, including Range Resources ( RRC -6%Antero Resources (AR) -7.5%Coterra Energy (CTRA) -3.9%Southwestern Energy (SWN) -6%Chesapeake Energy (CHK) -5.8%.
Freeport LNG said Friday it expects to restart the second-largest US LNG terminal later this year, pending regulatory approval, after estimating a mid-December restart.
