We expect the U.S. benchmark natural gas spot price at the Henry Hub to decrease about 2% to just under $3.50 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) in 2026 before rising sharply in 2027 to just under $4.60/MMBtu, according to our January Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO). We expect the annual average Henry Hub price in 2026 to decrease slightly as annual supply growth keeps pace with demand growth over the year. However, in 2027, we forecast demand growth will rise faster than supply growth, driven mainly by more feed gas demand from U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facilities, reducing the natural gas in storage. We forecast annual average spot prices will decrease by 2% in 2026 and then increase by 33% in 2027.
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Data source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), January 2026