Natural-gas producers rally as futures hit $6 for first time since 2022
Historic winter storm disrupts US production, driving 89% weekly surge in prices
Natural-gas producers surged in Monday trading as futures prices nearly doubled over the past week, climbing above $6 per million British thermal units for the first time since 2022 on the back of a severe winter storm sweeping across the United States.
Front-month natural-gas futures jumped 18% to $6.221/MMBtu, extending a record 70% rally from the previous week that marked the largest one-week percentage gain since December 2005. The dramatic price action reflects a perfect storm of supply disruption and soaring demand: approximately 10% of U.S. natural gas production has been temporarily knocked offline by freezing temperatures, while pipeline deliveries to liquefied natural gas export plants fell to a one-year low as operators curtailed activity ahead of the Arctic blast.
Producer shares outperformed the broader market, with EQT Corporation climbing 2.8% and Expand Energy rising nearly 2%. Coterra Energy gained 1.5%, while the First Trust Natural Gas ETF (FCG) added 4.66%. The rally follows even stronger gains from the previous week, when Expand and EQT each surged nearly 10%, and Coterra rose more than 6%.
The price spike is concentrated in near-term contracts, with futures for June, July and August all trading below $3/MMBtu, suggesting the surge is viewed as a temporary weather-driven phenomenon rather than a structural shift in supply-demand fundamentals. However, the impact on European markets could be more sustained depending on whether freeze-related damage to U.S. production infrastructure proves lasting.
The European benchmark Title Transfer Facility futures have jumped 48% since the start of the year, indicating the winter storm's ripple effects across global energy markets. For U.S. producers, the surge comes at an opportune time after years of relatively low prices that had squeezed margins and prompted consolidation across the sector.
The strength in natural gas contrasts with broader commodity markets, where energy prices had been relatively subdued to start 2026. The sudden jump highlights the continuing vulnerability of energy infrastructure to extreme weather events, a dynamic that has become increasingly familiar to investors in recent years.