Natural Gas Stuck Between $2.60 and $2.80 as Storage Caps Rally

Demand offers little help this time of year. The summer cooling season has not produced the sustained heat waves that typically lift gas-fired power demand. Forecasts for the next two weeks show above-normal temperatures across parts of the South and Midwest, but nothing severe enough to drain storage quickly. The Energy Information Administration reported a 34-billion-cubic-foot storage injection for the week ending July 26, in line with the five-year average.

The October contract begins trading as the front month in about two weeks. That shift typically brings attention to winter heating demand. But the storage surplus gives the market room to absorb early-season cold without a supply scare.

Traders are watching the $2.60 support and the $2.80 resistance as the defining levels for the near term. A break above $2.80 would target the June high near $2.95. A move below $2.60 would open a path toward $2.40, the February low.