The EIA currently projects Henry Hub natural gas to average $3.44 per MMBtu in 2026 and $3.31 in 2027. The front month last closed at $2.698. Below: the official forecast, current storage, and the drivers that decide whether it holds. See the live natural gas page for today's price and chart.
| 2025 | 2026 (est.) | 2027 (forecast) |
|---|---|---|
| 3.53 | 3.44 | 3.31 |
Source: EIA STEO. Watch the weekly storage report on fundamentals (Thursdays), the live Henry Hub price, and the oil price forecast.
The EIA projects Henry Hub natural gas to average $3.44 per MMBtu in 2026 and $3.31 in 2027. The front-month futures last closed at $2.698 (2026-08-18). The forecast is revised every month with the Short-Term Energy Outlook.
Lower-48 working gas in storage is 3,153 Bcf as of the EIA week ending 2026-08-07 (up 36 Bcf week-over-week). Storage versus the 5-year average is the single most-watched fundamental for gas prices — see the seasonal storage chart on the fundamentals page.
Weather first: heating demand in winter, air-conditioning (power burn) in summer. Then storage levels versus the 5-year norm, LNG export volumes (which link US prices to world markets), and production from associated shale gas. A cold snap with low storage is the classic price-spike setup.
The US produces more gas than it consumes and export capacity (LNG terminals) is the bottleneck. European and Asian buyers pay shipping, liquefaction and regasification on top — plus their own supply premiums. As more US LNG capacity comes online, the price gap narrows.