August 2026 Henry Hub natural gas futures are trading below $3, with prompt-month prices pinned in a narrow band as the contract approaches its July 29 expiration. Natural Gas Intelligence reported the August contract at $2.909 as of noon ET on July 15, with the session spanning $2.865 to $2.940 Natural Gas Intelligence. The CME Group Henry Hub Last-day Financial futures (Globex code HHQ6) showed a last price of 2.913 on its website CME Group.

The August 2026 contract (NGQ26) first traded on November 27, 2013, and is set for its last trade and settlement on July 29, 2026, per CME Group's contract calendar CME Group. Options on NGQ26 showed a last price of 3.051, down 0.161 or 5.01%, on volume of 123,801 as of July 9 at 10:10, according to CME Group CME Group. CME's Henry Hub Natural Gas Futures Settlements page carries settlement data for trade date Tuesday, July 14, 2026 CME Group.

On the supply side, the EIA's Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report put working gas in underground U.S. storage at 2,983 Bcf as of Friday, July 3, 2026 EIA. The EIA released its Short-Term Energy Outlook for natural gas on July 7, 2026, with the underlying forecast completed July 1 EIA. A companion Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report Supplement followed on July 9 EIA.

The EIA's natural gas data infrastructure underwent a structural change earlier this year. The Natural Gas Weekly Update announced on January 22 that it was publishing its final edition, with the Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report launching on January 29 EIA.

The storage figure of 2,983 Bcf and the prompt-month price action near $2.90–$2.91 frame a market sitting close to the round-number $3 handle without sufficient momentum to break through it. The session range NGI reported, $2.865 to $2.940, amounts to a 7.5-cent band, which is tight for a contract within two weeks of expiration. The 5.01% decline in NGQ26 options open interest value as of July 9, paired with volume above 123,000 lots, points to active positioning around that expiry. With the futures contract set to settle July 29 and the STEO forecast already in the market since July 7, the informational pipeline that typically drives late-July gas trading has largely been delivered.

For traders and analysts, the convergence of the EIA storage data, the STEO forecast window, and the contract's approach to last-trade date means the remaining variable is weather-driven demand revision. Storage at 2,983 Bcf provides a concrete reference point against which injection season expectations can be measured, but the EIA's own supplement released July 9 is the more granular companion product to watch for regional breakdowns. The transition from the legacy Weekly Update to the standalone Storage Report, effective late January, means year-over-year comparisons require care; the format change does not alter the underlying storage data but does shift where contextual commentary now lives.

Looking at what this means for market participants, the sub-$3 prompt month with compressed range and elevated options volume suggests a market pricing in near-term stability rather than directional conviction. The last trade date of July 29 creates a hard deadline for August contract positioning, and any weather surprise between now and then would flow directly into a thinly-traded window. The settlement data CME published for July 14 will be the more reliable mark than the intraday quotes, particularly for institutional risk desks running end-of-day valuation.