Natural gas prices are surging into 2026, with Henry Hub futures jumping past $5.50 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) this week as an Arctic blast drives heating demand toward record levels. This live chart tracks NYMEX natural gas futures in real time, giving you direct access to the commodity that powers 43% of America’s electricity generation and increasingly fuels the data center boom reshaping energy markets.
The 2026 natural gas story is simple: demand is outpacing supply. LNG exports, data center power consumption, and weather-driven heating needs are colliding with production that can’t keep up. The EIA projects Henry Hub will average $3.46/MMBtu for the full year before climbing to $4.60/MMBtu in 2027 as this imbalance intensifies.
Live Natural Gas Price Chart
What’s Moving Natural Gas Prices Right Now
Natural gas is on track for its largest weekly gain in records dating back to 1990. The immediate catalyst is weather: an Arctic outbreak is driving temperatures to an average of 21.8°F across the U.S., with the coldest period expected through late January. But the bigger story is structural demand growth that’s fundamentally reshaping America’s natural gas market.
LNG exports have exploded, with the U.S. now the world’s largest LNG supplier. Exports grew 26% in 2025 to around 14 Bcf/d and are projected to reach 16.4 Bcf/d in 2026 as new liquefaction facilities come online. Plaquemines LNG, Corpus Christi Stage 3, and Golden Pass LNG together add 5.3 Bcf/d of export capacity, pulling domestic supply toward international buyers paying premium prices in Europe and Asia.
Then there’s the data center surge. Artificial intelligence infrastructure is voraciously consuming electricity, and natural gas is meeting that demand. Bloomberg estimates data center power demand will jump 7.7 gigawatts in 2026 alone, concentrated in grid regions like PJM and ERCOT where reliability concerns are already emerging. Range Resources expects 2.5 Bcf/d of incremental demand from data centers by decade’s end.
2025 Natural Gas Price Review
The Henry Hub spot price averaged $3.52/MMBtu in 2025, a 56% increase from 2024’s record-low average of around $2.20/MMBtu. Daily prices ranged from $2.65 to $9.86/MMBtu through the year, with the most extreme volatility occurring during January’s polar vortex and the late-November cold snap that briefly pushed prices above $5.00/MMBtu.
The first quarter defied expectations. Analysts had predicted weakness due to high storage levels and soft industrial demand, but Henry Hub held firm above $4.15/MMBtu through Q1 2025. Production discipline among U.S. producers, who shifted focus toward capital efficiency after years of overproduction, helped moderate supply growth even as demand strengthened.
Storage inventories entered winter 2024-25 well above the five-year average but drew down faster than expected. The polar vortex in January 2025 triggered the fourth-largest weekly withdrawal on record. By mid-year, robust injections of over 100 Bcf per week for seven consecutive weeks restored balances, but the lesson was clear: demand is rising faster than supply can comfortably accommodate.
Natural Gas Price Forecast: 2026 and Beyond
The EIA’s January 2026 Short-Term Energy Outlook projects Henry Hub will average $3.46/MMBtu for the full year before rising sharply to $4.60/MMBtu in 2027. That 33% year-over-year jump reflects the fundamental imbalance building in the market: demand growth is expected to outpace supply by 1.6 Bcf/d in 2027, drawing down storage and tightening market conditions.
J.P. Morgan forecasts a $3.74/MMBtu average for 2026, while Fitch’s BMI unit projects $3.90/MMBtu. Enverus sees prices averaging $3.80/MMBtu through winter months before softening to $3.60/MMBtu in summer, then gradually climbing toward $4.00-$4.50/MMBtu by decade’s end. The consensus is clear: natural gas prices are structurally higher than the sub-$3.00/MMBtu levels that characterized 2020-2024.
Dry gas production is projected to reach 109 Bcf/d in 2026, up 1% from 2025, with growth concentrated in the Permian Basin, Haynesville Shale, and Appalachian region. But production growth is slowing relative to demand, and total U.S. consumption including exports is forecast to hit 119 Bcf/d in 2027, more than 1 Bcf/d above total supply. That gap gets filled from storage, which means prices rise.
Understanding Natural Gas Futures
Natural gas futures trade on NYMEX with delivery at the Henry Hub in Louisiana, the nexus of 16 intra- and interstate pipeline systems that draw supplies from the Gulf Coast’s prolific gas deposits. Contracts trade in units of 10,000 MMBtu, with prices quoted per MMBtu. The front-month contract shown on this chart represents the nearest delivery month and typically carries the most volume and tightest spreads.
Natural gas is notoriously volatile. Unlike oil, which can be stored relatively cheaply in tanks and tankers, natural gas requires pressurized pipelines or expensive liquefaction for storage. That makes the market extremely sensitive to weather, storage levels, and pipeline capacity. A cold snap in producing regions can simultaneously spike demand while freezing off supply at wellheads, creating the kind of 70%+ weekly moves we’re seeing right now.
Seasonality matters. Prices typically peak in winter heating months (December-February) and trough during shoulder months (April-May, September-October) when neither heating nor cooling demand dominates. The summer months can bring price spikes if heat waves drive air conditioning demand and natural gas-fired power generation.
Key Factors Affecting Natural Gas Prices
Weather remains the dominant short-term driver. Heating degree days in winter and cooling degree days in summer directly correlate with natural gas consumption for residential heating and power generation. Extended forecasts can move futures prices by 10-20% in a single week, as we’re witnessing right now.
Storage levels provide the market’s shock absorber. The EIA reports weekly inventory changes every Thursday at 10:30 AM ET, and surprises versus expectations routinely move prices 3-5% in minutes. Inventories currently sit around 3.065 trillion cubic feet, about 6% above the five-year average but drawing down fast.
LNG exports create a floor under domestic prices by connecting U.S. supply to global demand. European TTF prices currently trade around $12.40/MMBtu, more than triple U.S. levels, creating strong pull for LNG cargoes. Any disruption to export terminal operations or shipping can swing domestic balances.
Production levels respond to price signals with a lag. U.S. producers have shown greater capital discipline since the pandemic, focusing on returns over growth. The natural gas rig count currently stands at 122, down from peaks above 200. Higher sustained prices would eventually incentivize more drilling, but new production takes 6-12 months to reach market.
Power sector demand now accounts for 43% of U.S. natural gas consumption, up from 30% a decade ago. Coal plant retirements, data center growth, and the intermittency of renewable generation all increase reliance on gas-fired power plants that can ramp quickly to meet load.
The LNG Export Boom
The United States became the world’s largest LNG exporter in 2023 and has maintained that position since. Exports grew from essentially zero in 2016 to 11.9 Bcf/d in 2024 and are projected to reach 16+ Bcf/d in 2026 as new facilities ramp up. This transformation fundamentally changed domestic natural gas dynamics by linking U.S. prices to global markets.
Three major facilities are driving the 2025-2026 export surge. Venture Global’s Plaquemines LNG started shipping in December 2024 and is ramping toward full capacity. Cheniere’s Corpus Christi Stage 3 produced its first cargo in February 2025. ExxonMobil and Qatar Energy’s Golden Pass LNG is expected online by late 2026 or early 2027, adding another 2.05 Bcf/d of capacity.
Europe remains the primary destination for U.S. LNG. European Union storage facilities have seen faster drawdowns this winter than the previous two years, sitting at just 48% capacity in late January compared to the five-year average of 63%. That deficit could require an additional 100 LNG cargoes over the summer, according to Reuters estimates.
Data Centers: The New Demand Driver
Artificial intelligence and cloud computing are creating a new category of natural gas demand that didn’t exist five years ago. Data centers require massive, consistent power supplies, and while operators prefer renewable sources, demand is growing faster than wind and solar can be built. Natural gas fills the gap with dispatchable generation that can ramp to meet load 24/7.
Virginia, South Carolina, and Georgia alone are planning 65-85% of projected electricity load growth around data center needs through 2040, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. The PJM Interconnection and ERCOT regions face capacity shortfalls unless generation and transmission expansions accelerate.
Pipeline developers are responding. The 18 Bcf/d of new capacity expected online in 2026 represents the largest pipeline expansion since the 2008 shale boom peak, according to Morningstar DBRS. Unlike past cycles, utilities and data center operators are anchoring projects with long-term transportation commitments to secure supply.
Trading Natural Gas: What to Watch
The EIA’s Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report drops every Thursday at 10:30 AM ET and is the single most market-moving data point in the natural gas complex. Traders compare actual inventory changes to consensus estimates; surprises of 5+ Bcf regularly move prices 2-3%.
Weather forecasts from the Global Forecast System (GFS) and European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) models drive positioning in front-month and nearby contracts. Extended forecasts beyond 10 days carry less weight but can still move prices on major temperature shifts.
Production data from the EIA’s Natural Gas Weekly Update and private trackers like S&P Global Commodity Insights provide supply-side visibility. Freeze-offs during cold snaps can temporarily reduce output by 2-4 Bcf/d, as happened during January 2025’s polar vortex.
LNG feedgas flows, tracked by terminals and third-party monitors, indicate export demand in real time. Feedgas reached a new daily record in January 2026 and was running 17% higher year-over-year for the week ending January 22.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the current price of natural gas?
Natural gas futures are trading above $5.00/MMBtu as of late January 2026, up more than 70% week-over-week due to extreme cold forecasts. Use the live chart above for real-time pricing.
Why are natural gas prices spiking right now?
An Arctic outbreak is driving temperatures to the low 20s°F across much of the U.S., pushing heating demand toward record levels. The freeze is also raising concerns about production freeze-offs in southern gas-producing regions, tightening supply just as demand surges.
What is Henry Hub?
Henry Hub is the pricing point for NYMEX natural gas futures, located in Erath, Louisiana. It’s the nexus of 16 interstate and intrastate pipelines and serves as the benchmark for U.S. natural gas prices.
How does weather affect natural gas prices?
Natural gas is used for heating in winter and power generation for air conditioning in summer. Cold snaps increase heating demand while potentially freezing production. The combination can create extreme price volatility, as we’re seeing this week.
What is MMBtu?
Million British thermal units (MMBtu) is the standard unit for measuring natural gas. One MMBtu equals approximately 1,000 cubic feet of natural gas, roughly enough to heat an average home for about four days in winter.
How do LNG exports affect domestic prices?
LNG exports connect U.S. natural gas to global markets where prices are often higher. When European or Asian prices spike, more U.S. gas flows to export terminals, tightening domestic supply and lifting prices.
What drives natural gas production growth?
Production responds to price signals with a 6-12 month lag. The Permian Basin (associated gas from oil drilling), Haynesville Shale (dry gas near Gulf Coast LNG terminals), and Appalachian region (Marcellus and Utica shales) drive most U.S. growth.
When does the EIA release storage data?
The Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report comes out every Thursday at 10:30 AM Eastern Time. It’s the most market-moving data point in natural gas trading.
What is the natural gas price forecast for 2026?
The EIA projects Henry Hub will average $3.46/MMBtu for full-year 2026, with J.P. Morgan at $3.74/MMBtu and BMI at $3.90/MMBtu. Prices are expected to rise further in 2027 as demand outpaces supply growth.
How do data centers affect natural gas demand?
AI and cloud computing require massive power supplies. Natural gas-fired plants provide dispatchable generation that complements intermittent renewables. Bloomberg estimates data center power demand will jump 7.7 gigawatts in 2026 alone.
Track Natural Gas Prices in Real Time
Bookmark this page for instant access to live natural gas futures pricing. Whether you’re tracking heating costs, trading energy markets, or monitoring the commodity that increasingly powers America’s AI infrastructure, this chart gives you the real-time data you need. Prices update continuously during NYMEX trading hours, with technical indicators to help identify trends and turning points in this notoriously volatile market.