U.S. natural gas futures gave back some of the prior session’s gains on Friday, with the July contract settling at $3.278 per million British thermal units, down 1.7%. The pullback followed a two-day rally driven by hotter weather forecasts and a report of a below-average weekly storage injection, according to data from the Energy Information Administration.
The inventory report showed that storage volumes in the South Central region, a key U.S. producing and consuming hub, stood 41 billion cubic feet below their level at the same time last year. Eli Rubin, an analyst at EBW Analytics, said in a client note that the data remained “particularly supportive for Henry Hub and Nymex futures.” Rubin wrote that “continued regional tightening—even in the absence of heat—may remain a supportive factor for Nymex natural gas into early summer.”
In broader economic data, the unemployment rate held steady at 4.3% in May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, while employers added 172,000 jobs during the month, exceeding consensus expectations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 875 points to close at 51,561.93, as markets broadly recovered from recent volatility tied to geopolitical tensions and energy supply concerns.