Natural gas futures sank on Thursday after another larger-than-expected US supply build. Prices for the energy commodity continue to struggle this summer, with forecasts of hotter-than-normal temperatures heading into September.

September natural gas futures tumbled $0.083, or 2.96%, to $2.721 per million British thermal units (Btu) at 18:15 GMT on Thursday on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The energy commodity is on track for a weekly gain of more than 3%, but remains down almost 14% year-to-date.

For the week ending August 7, domestic natural gas inventories rose 36 billion cubic feet, up from 33 billion cubic feet, according to the US Energy Information Administration. This came in above economists’ expectations of 31 billion cubic feet.

Last week’s build was driven by the Midwest (20 billion cubic feet) and the East (15 billion cubic feet).

In total, US natural gas supplies stand at 3.153 trillion cubic feet, little changed from a year ago. This is also close to 7% above the five-year average of 2.955 trillion cubic feet.

The EIA published its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) report, which found that US natural gas production is poised to reach a record high this year.

From January to June, domestic natural gas output averaged more than 121 billion cubic feet, up 4% from the same span last year. In the second half of 2026, marketed natural gas production is projected to average nearly 123 billion cubic feet, exceeding last year’s record of 118.5 billion cubic feet.

As for prices, the federal agency estimates they will average $3.44 per million British thermal units this year, down roughly 2% from the previous year.

Other energy markets were firmly in the red toward the end of the trading week.

September West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures fell $2.10, or 2.52%, to $81.22 per barrel. October Brent crude futures declined $1.91, or 2.15%, to $87.07 a barrel. September gasoline futures dipped $0.0232, or 0.74%, to $3.1305 per gallon. September heating oil futures erased $0.042, or 0.98%, to $4.262 a gallon.