Adds EIA Storage Report, Latest Prices

By Scott Disavino

Feb 20 (Reuters) - U.S. Natural Gas Futures Fell About 4% on Thursday From a 25-Month High in the Prior Session on Forecasts for Less Cold and Lower Heating Demand Next Week Than Previously Expected.

Front-Month Gas Futures Ngc1 for March Delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange Were Down 17.2 Cents, or 4.0%, at $4.108 per Million British Thermal Units (Mmbtu) by 10:36 A.m. EST (1536 Gmt). on Wednesday, the Contract Closed at Its Highest Since December 2022.

Wednesday's Price Hike Came as Extreme Cold Blanketing Much of the Country This Week Boosted Heating Demand and Cut Output by Freezing Oil and Gas Wells, While at the Same Time Flows to Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Export Plants Climbed to a Record High.

Thursday's Price Drop Came Despite a Federal Report Showing Utilities Pulled a Little More Gas Out of Storage Than Expected to Heat Homes and Businesses During Frigid Weather Last Week.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) Said Energy Firms Pulled 196 Billion Cubic Feet (Bcf) of Gas Out of Storage During the Week Ended February 14.

That Was Slightly Bigger Than the 188-Bcf Withdrawal Analysts Forecast in a Reuters Poll and Compares With a Drop of 58 Bcf During the Same Week Last Year and a Five-Year Average Draw of 145 Bcf for This Time of Year. EIA/Gas Ngas/Poll

Supply and Demand

Financial Company Lseg Said Average Gas Output in the Lower 48 U.S. States Rose to 104.8 Billion Cubic Feet per Day (Bcfd) so Far in February, up From 102.7 Bcfd in January When Freezing Oil and Gas Wells and Pipes, Known as Freeze-Offs, Cut Production.

That Compares With a Monthly Record of 104.6 Bcfd in December 2023.

But With the Return of Extreme Cold That Is Again Freezing Wells in Some Parts of the Country, Daily Output Was on Track to Drop by Around 6.7 Bcfd Since Hitting a Record High of 106.7 Bcfd on February 6 to a Preliminary Four-Week Low of 100.0 Bcfd on Thursday.

Analysts Noted Preliminary Data Is Often Revised Later in the Day.

Meteorologists Projected Weather in the Lower 48 States Would Remain Colder Than Normal Through February 22 Before Switching to Mostly Near-Normal Levels From February 23 to March 7.

With Milder Weather Coming, Lseg Forecast Average Gas Demand in the Lower 48 States, Including Exports, Will Fall From 147.3 Bcfd This Week to 127.6 Bcfd Next Week. the Forecast for This Week Was Higher Than Lseg's Outlook on Wednesday, While Its Forecast for Next Week Was Lower.

The Amount of Gas Flowing to the Eight Big U.S. LNG Export Plants Rose to an Average of 15.5 Bcfd so Far in February, up From 14.6 Bcfd in January. That Compares With a Monthly Record High of 14.7 Bcfd in December 2023.

On a Daily Basis, LNG Feedgas Hit a Record 16.4 Bcfd on Wednesday, Topping the Prior All-Time Daily High of 16.2 Bcfd on Tuesday.

The LNG Daily Feedgas Record Came as Flows to Venture Global's Vg.n 2.6-Bcfd Plaquemines LNG Export Plant Under Construction in Louisiana Were on Track to Hit Record Highs of 1.6 Bcfd on Wednesday and Thursday.

The United States Became the World's Biggest LNG Supplier in 2023, Surpassing Australia and Qatar, as Surging Global Prices Fed Demand for More Exports, Due Partly to Supply Disruptions and Sanctions Linked to Russia's 2022 Invasion of Ukraine.

Gas Was Trading at Around $15 per Mmbtu at the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (Ttf) Trnlttfmc1 Benchmark in Europe and $14 at the Japan Korea Marker (Jkm) Jkmc1 Benchmark in Asia. Ng/EU

(Reporting by Scott Disavino; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

((Scott.disavino@Thomsonreuters.com; +1 332 219 1922; Reuters Messaging: Scott.disavino.thomsonreuters.com@Reuters.net/))

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For Graphics on Baker Hughes Rig Counts, See: Http://Graphics.thomsonreuters.com/15/Rigcount/Index.html

For Next-Day Snl U.S. Gas Prices, See: 0#Snl-Ng

For Next-Day Snl U.S. Power Prices, See: 0#Snl-Pwr

For U.S. Natgas Price and Storage Polls, See: Ngas/Poll

For U.S. Nuclear Power Outages, See: Nuke/

For U.S. Northwest Hydro Power Report, See: Nwrfc

For U.S./Canada Natural Gas Rig Count Vs Henry Hub Futures Price, See: Http://Tmsnrt.rs/2Et9K44

For the U.S. Natural Gas Speed Guide, See: Usgas

For the U.S. Power Speed Guide, See: Uspower

To Determine CFTC Managed Money Net Position Add (Nymex Henry Hub Options and Futures Combined 3023651Mnet) Plus (Ice Henry Hub Options and Futures Combined 3023391Mnet Divided by Four) Plus (Nymex Henry Hub Swaps Options and Futures Combined 303565Bmnet Divided by Four) Plus (Nymex Henry Hub Penultimate Gas Swaps 303565Cmnet Divided by Four)

Nymex Henry Hub Options and Futures Combined 0#3CFTC023651

Nymex Henry Hub Futures Only 0#1CFTC023651

Ice Henry Hub Options and Futures Combined 0#3CFTC023391

Nymex Henry Hub Swaps Options and Futures Combined 0#3CFTC03565B

Nymex Henry Hub Penultimate Gas Swaps 0#3CFTC03565C