Bill Burson

December natural gas is set to open unchanged Monday morning at $2.96 as weather forecasts hint at cooling to come, but show no immediately pervasive trends beyond the current warm-dominated patterns. Overnight oil markets inched higher.

Physical natural gas for weekend and Monday delivery was in abundant supply in Friday’s trading, and with sellers outnumbering buyers and a weak settlement of the November futures contract, prices tumbled.

Weekly natural gas trading started off with a bang as a perfect storm of soaring temperatures, loss of electrical transmission,, and constrained pipeline transportation converged on the Los Angeles Basin and set prices early in the week rocketing by $9 to upwards of $12.

November natural gas is set to open 8 cents lower Friday morning at $2.81 as overnight weather data resulted in a large decrease in forecast heating load. Overnight oil markets fell.

November natural gas futures fell Thursday following a report by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showing a storage build that was right on target with what traders were expecting.

November natural gas is expected to open 4 cents lower Thursday morning at $2.88 as overnight weather data shows no clear evidence of sustained cold ahead of government inventory data showing a less than normal storage build. Overnight oil markets were mixed.

Physical natural gas and futures each slipped lower Thursday as cash traders scurried to get their deals done ahead of the often volatility-inducing Energy Information Administration (EIA) storage report. Gains in California and steady pricing in Appalachia were unable to offset weakness in Texas, Louisiana, the Northeast and Southeast. TheNGI National Spot Gas Average fell 3 cents to $2.69.

November natural gas is set to open 4 cents lower Wednesday morning at $2.93 as overnight weather models run into conflicts over forecast cooling. Overnight oil markets were mixed.

Natural gas for delivery Thursday continued on Wednesday’s downward trek as gains in Appalachia along with steady pricing in the Rocky Mountains were not able to offset steep declines in California as pricing at the SoCal Citygate was reined in to more normal levels.