Reuters Published April 21, 2026 Updated about 3 hours ago NEW YORK: US natural gas futures edged up to a fresh one-week high on Monday on a drop in output over the past couple of weeks and forecasts for cooler weather and higher demand through early May than previously expected. Gas futures were also supported by near-record gas flows to US liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants and a 5percent jump in crude futures on fears the US-Iran ceasefire could collapse after the US seized an Iranian cargo ship. Front-month gas futures for May delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) rose 3.8 cents, or 1.4percent, to USD2.712 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), putting the contract on track for its highest close since April 8 for a second day in a row. Even though gas futures were on track to rise for a fourth straight day, speculators last week boosted their net short futures and options positions on the NYMEX to the highest since November 2024, according to the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Commitments of Traders report. In the cash market, average prices at the Waha Hub in West Texas remained in negative territory for a record 51 days in a row as pipeline constraints continued to trap gas in the Permian region, the nation’s biggest oil-producing shale basin. Daily Waha prices first averaged below zero in 2019. They did so 17 times in 2019, six times in 2020, once in 2023, 49 times in 2024, 39 times in 2025, and a record 60 times so far this year. Waha prices have averaged a negative USD1.83 per mmBtu so far in 2026, compared…