Natural gas futures surged to close out the trading session, rallying more than 3% and adding to their weekly gains. Natural gas prices have struggled to sustain an upward trajectory this year, but are looking to remain above $4 in the home stretch of 2025.
January natural gas futures advanced $0.161, or 3.83%, to $4.366 per million British thermal units (Btu) at 12:49 GMT on Friday on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas is poised for a weekly gain of about 30%, lifting its year-to-date gain to almost 40%.
It is unclear what is driving the gains in the energy commodity, considering that last week’s storage build topped market estimates and weather forecasts pointing to warmer temperatures heading into the holiday season.
For the week ending Oct. 24, US natural gas inventories increased 74 billion cubic feet, down from the previous week’s supply injection of 87 billion cubic feet and slightly above the consensus forecast of 71 billion cubic feet.
The inventory increase was broad-based, led by the South Central (27 billion cubic feet) and the Midwest (25 billion cubic feet).
In total, US storage levels stand at 3.882 trillion cubic feet, up 29 billion cubic feet from the same time a year ago and 171 billion cubic feet above the five-year average.
Recent forecasts suggest home heating demand days could be lower than the average for this time of the year.
“Natural gas forward prices lost ground during the Oct. 23–29 trading period as weather models pared back November heating demand expectations, reversing part of a recent rally,” NatGasIntel reported on Thursday.
Phil Flynn, an energy strategist at The PRICE Futures Group, says the current administration is aiming to bolster US exports, particularly to Asia, which would require greater output levels.
“This morning’s big story centers on the Trump administration’s ongoing push for ‘energy dominance,’ which basically means ramping up U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), crude oil, and other fuels to major Asian allies,” Flynn wrote in a daily note on Oct. 31.
“This strategy goes hand-in-hand with broader trade talks, like President Trump’s recent summit with China’s Xi Jinping and the steady connections with South Korea. For instance, Wright pointed out that the U.S. is in a strong position to boost natural gas and oil exports to South Korea, and he’s planning a trip to Asia soon to hammer out the final details.”
In other energy markets, December West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures rose $0.25, or 0.41%, to $60.82 a barrel. January Brent crude futures ticked up $0.21, or 0.33%, to $64.58 a barrel. December gasoline futures were flat at $1.89 per gallon, while December heating oil futures dipped $0.0109, or 0.45%, to $2.3983 a gallon.