(Adds latest prices)
Sept 18 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures held near a seven-week low on Friday as rising output in the Gulf of Mexico after Hurricane Sally offset an increase in liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports.
Front-month gas futures NGc1 rose 0.6 cents, or 0.3%, to settle at $2.048 per million British thermal units (mmBtu). On Thursday, the contract closed at its lowest since July 31.
That put the front-month down about 9% for the week and helped boost the November futures premium over October NGV20-X20 to a record 61 cents per mmBtu.
Data provider Refinitiv said output in the Lower 48 U.S. states rose to 86.3 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) on Thursday from a three-month low of 84.8 bcfd on Wednesday as producers started returning Gulf of Mexico wells shut-in for Sally. The storm smashed into the Gulf Coast near the Alabama-Florida border early Wednesday.
With cooler weather coming, Refinitiv projected demand, including exports, would fall from an average of 85.5 bcfd this week to 82.7 bcfd next week before rising to 83.9 bcfd in two weeks as LNG exports increase.
The amount of gas flowing to U.S. LNG export plants was on track to reach 7.6 bcfd on Friday, its highest in a day since April.
For the month, LNG feedgas averaged 5.5 bcfd so far in September. That was the most in a month since May and was up for a second month in a row for the first time since hitting a record 8.7 bcfd in February as global gas prices rise, making U.S. gas more attractive. LNG's export plant in Louisiana, however, remained shut since Aug. 27 due to lingering power outages from Hurricane Laura. Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) SRE.N , one of Cameron's partners, said it expects the facility will be in full operation in six weeks. ended
Week ended
Year ago Five-year
Sep 18
Sep 11
Sep 18
average
(Actual)
(Actual)
Sep 18
U.S. natgas storage (bcf):
+74
+89
+97
+80
Refinitiv Heating (HDD), Cooling (CDD) and Total (TDD) Degree Days
Two-Week Total Forecast
Current Day
Prior Day
Prior Year 10-Year
30-Year Norm
Norm
U.S. GFS HDDs
45
47
14
24
57 U.S. GFS CDDs
76
74
149
130
84 U.S. GFS TDDs
121
121
163
154
141
Refinitiv U.S. Weekly GFS Supply and Demand Forecasts
Prior Week
Current Week Next Week This Week
Five-Year
Last Year Average For
Month U.S. Supply (bcfd) U.S. Lower 48 Dry Production
88.4
86.4
85.7
93.3
79.7 U.S. Imports from Canada
5.8
5.7
6.2
7.8
7.9 U.S. LNG Imports
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.1 Total U.S. Supply
94.2
92.2
92.0
100.0
87.7
U.S. Demand (bcfd) U.S. Exports to Canada
2.1
2.0
1.9
2.5
2.3 U.S. Exports to Mexico
6.0
5.8
6.0
5.6
4.5 U.S. LNG Exports
4.8
6.9
7.4
6.5
2.1 U.S. Commercial
4.8
4.9
5.3
4.7
4.7 U.S. Residential
4.0
4.1
4.9
3.8
3.7 U.S. Power Plant
34.3
33.9
29.3
35.8
32.0 U.S. Industrial
21.6
21.5
21.7
21.2
20.6 U.S. Plant Fuel
4.4
4.3
4.2
4.3
4.4 U.S. Pipe Distribution
1.9
1.9
1.8
1.9
1.9 U.S. Vehicle Fuel
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1 Total U.S. Consumption
71.0
70.7
67.4
71.3
67.4 Total U.S. Demand
84.0
85.5
82.7
86.4
76.3
SNL U.S. Natural Gas Next-Day Prices ($ per mmBtu)
Hub
Current Day
Prior Day
Henry Hub NG-W-HH-SNL
1.65
2.06
Transco Z6 New York NG-CG-NY-SNL
0.87
0.96
PG&E Citygate NG-CG-PGE-SNL
3.31
3.43
Dominion South NG-PCN-APP-SNL
0.83
0.90
Chicago Citygate NG-CG-CH-SNL
1.64
1.90
Algonquin Citygate NG-CG-BS-SNL
1.08
1.25
SoCal Citygate NG-SCL-CGT-SNL
2.53
2.80
Waha Hub NG-WAH-WTX-SNL
0.97
1.39
SNL U.S. Power Next-Day Prices ($ per megawatt-hour)
Hub
Current Day
Prior Day
New England EL-PK-NPMS-SNL
20.25
23.00
PJM West EL-PK-PJMW-SNL
18.75
22.00
Ercot North EL-PK-ERTN-SNL
20.00
23.25
Mid C EL-PK-MIDC-SNL
31.50
36.25
Palo Verde EL-PK-PLVD-SNL
31.25
30.50
SP-15 EL-PK-SP15-SNL
35.50
36.75