Spot natural gas prices in the U.S. were lower year over year in May amid ongoing growth in shale production, while prices in the western U.S. declined on weak power-sector demand.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration's latest Drilling Productivity Report suggests that U.S. shale gas output will reach about 68 Bcf/d in June, about 21% above the prior-year level.
Average spot gas prices in the Northeast, Mid-continent and Gulf Coast fell from between the high $2s and the low $3s per MMBtu to the low to high $2s per MMBtu over the same period, while the index in the West tumbled almost 34% from the prior-year level to $1.816/MMBtu.

Degree day data from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reflected changing weather conditions as the calendar transitioned from spring to summer, showing easing heating demand and rising cooling load on a national level. During the four weeks ended May 26, U.S. population-weighted cooling degree days were up 28% compared to normal and 9% higher year on year, while gas customer-weighted home heating degree days were down 29% versus both the norm and the year-ago level.
Cooling degree days in the Pacific remain deflated against historical averages, however, at 68% lower than normal and 80% lower than in the previous year. Gas customer-weighted home heating degree days were up 9% year over year but down almost 12% relative to normal.
Gas hubs serving the California ISO posted year-over-year declines, in line with weaker demand. Spot pricing at PG&E Gate in May was down approximately 15% from the year-ago figure, from $3.374/MMBtu to $2.878/MMBtu. PG&E South logged a near 36% drop over the same period as the index fell from $2.912/MMBtu to $1.875/MMBtu, while SoCal Citygate notched a roughly 10% decrease as the average slid from $3.206/MMBtu to $2.883/MMBtu.

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