Jeremiah Shelor

A heat wave in Southern California helped drive natural gas spot prices higher on average for the week ended Friday, even as points throughout the Gulf Coast slid along with declines in futures; theNGIWeekly National Spot Gas Average added 8 cents to $2.70/MMBtu.

Natural gas futures bulls gained back some ground Friday after taking it on the chin earlier in the week, even as a slight bearish miss from government storage data appeared to offer little in the way of support.

August natural gas futures were set to open Thursday about a penny higher at around $2.880/MMBtu as forecasters over the Independence Day holiday noted warmer changes to the outlook for mid-July.

Rover Pipeline LLC and FERC remain at odds over pending in-service requests for the final portions of the 713-mile, 3.25 Bcf/d project, with the operator this week defending its actions after Commission staff scrutinized missed restoration deadlines.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Huntington District has reinstated the Mountain Valley Pipeline’s (MVP) Nationwide Permit (NWP) 12 for four river crossings in West Virginia, but a stay issued last month by a federal appeals court remains in effect.

Natural gas futures slid Thursday as production concerns and some anticipated cooling in the Northeast sent prices lower, despite a generally bullish forecast for the next two weeks. In the spot market, projected triple-digit heat sent SoCal Citygate prices spiking, while East Coast points fell on cooler temperatures ahead; the NGI National Spot Gas Average added 2 cents to $2.72/MMBtu.

Natural gas futures slid Thursday as production concerns and some anticipated cooling in the Northeast sent prices lower, despite a generally bullish forecast for the next two weeks. In the spot market, projected triple-digit heat sent SoCal Citygate prices spiking, while East Coast points fell on cooler temperatures ahead; the NGI National Spot Gas Average added 2 cents to $2.72/MMBtu.

August natural gas futures were set to open Tuesday near even at around $2.863/MMBtu following Monday’s declines, with record-level production and expectations for recent summer heat to ease, keeping the bears in the driver’s seat for now.

Natural gas futures gained modestly Tuesday ahead of the Independence Day holiday as small changes to weather guidance left the market to continue weighing near-term heat and storage deficits against surging production.