Natural Gas Futures Surge To Over 3-Year Highs As Cold Wave Grips US

• On Sunday, PJM Interconnection, the largest regional power grid serving about 67 million people, reported nearly 21 gigawatts of generation outages.
• Domestic gas demand projected to reach 156 billion cubic feet per day (BCFD) this week, well above the five-year January average of 137 bcfd, according to a Reuters report on Monday.
• ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Natural Gas (KOLD), an ETF that benefits from falling natural gas prices, was down over 14%.

U.S. natural gas futures surged sharply on Monday as an Arctic blast disrupted production and strained near-term supplies.

The benchmark U.S. natural gas futures at Henry Hub, expiring in February, were up by more than 29% at the time of writing to $6.8 per million British thermal units (MMBtu), their highest since December 2022. March contracts were up around 6% at $3.8.

Freezing temperatures across large parts of the U.S. have forced production shutdowns and tightened pipeline flows, particularly into the Eastern Seaboard. On Sunday, PJM Interconnection, the largest regional power grid serving about 67 million people, reported nearly 21 gigawatts of generation outages and issued a pre-emergency order to curb demand. Pipeline constraints further limited supply just as heating demand spiked.

The cold weather is expected to significantly lift consumption, with domestic gas demand projected to reach 156 billion cubic feet per day (BCFD) this week, well above the five-year January average of 137 bcfd, according to a Reuters report on Monday.

Europe To Ban Russian Gas Imports

Meanwhile, energy markets are also digesting major policy developments in Europe. The European Union formally adopted regulations to phase out imports of Russian pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas as part of its REPowerEU strategy.

The ban will begin six weeks after the rules take effect, with transition periods for existing contracts. A full prohibition on LNG imports is set for early 2027, followed by pipeline gas bans later that year, a move aimed at reshaping long-term global gas flows while limiting short-term market disruption.

How Did Stocktwits Users React?

ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Natural Gas (KOLD), an ETF that benefits from falling natural gas prices, was down over 15% and was among the top trending tickers on Stocktwits. Retail sentiment for KOLD on the platform remained ‘extremely bullish’ over the past 24 hours, amid ‘extremely high’ message volumes.

Meanwhile, ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Natural Gas (BOIL) was up 16% at the time of writing.

Read also: AG, ASM, HL Stocks Soar Pre-Market As Silver Blasts Past $110

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