US natural gas near a two-month low as the gap with global LNG widens amid the Hormuz crisis

US natural gas (Henry Hub) fell to about $2.85 per million BTU in mid-July, its lowest level in two months. Rising domestic output (around 110 billion cubic feet per day), above-average inventories, and lower LNG exports during maintenance at the Freeport terminal (from July 10 until late August) have kept US domestic supply ample.

That decline runs opposite to the trend in global gas prices, where disruption in the Strait of Hormuz and reduced LNG loadings in the Persian Gulf have tightened supply for European and Asian buyers and pushed prices higher. The gap shows how the current energy crisis has split the world gas market in two: the US with a cheap surplus, and Hormuz-dependent markets facing scarcity and higher costs.