Leticia Gonzales

Continued colder-than-normal temperatures in the outlook helped to push a recently volatile natural gas futures market higher in early trading Monday. The May Nymex contract was up 6.1 cents to $1.794/MMBtu at around 8:45 a.m. ET.

After a successful attempt at breaching $1.80/MMBtu, May natural gas futures slammed the brakes as widespread demand losses from Covid-19-related shutdowns continued to dominate markets. However, volatility remained high and the prompt month went on to settle Monday at $1.724, off only nine-tenths of 1 cent from last Thursday’s closing price. June climbed 1.6 cents to $1.879.

An increasingly tight supply/demand picture that began emerging over the past week, in part from much chillier April outlooks, sent natural gas forwards surging during the April 2-7 period. May prices jumped an average 30 cents, and similarly stout double-digit gains were seen through the remainder of summer, according toNGI’s Forward Look.

While some of the world’s largest oil producers were meeting to discuss potential curtailments, natural gas traders were making cuts of their own, slashing Nymex futures even further as demand impacts from Covid-19 became increasingly clear. After plunging as low as $1.721, the May contract settled Thursday at $1.733, down 5.0 cents day/day. June dropped 3.3 cents to $1.863.

Spot gas prices for the April 6-9 week posted stout gains across much of the Lower 48 as sub-$2/MMBtu gas continued to incentivize strong power burns despite a lack of significant demand. Led by gains on the West Coast,NGI’s Spot Gas WeeklyNational Avg.jumped 16.0 cents to $1.520.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a 38 Bcf injection into natural gas storage inventories for the week ending April 3, coming in well above most estimates but besting NGI’s model by only 1 Bcf.

The saying goes that all good things must come to an end, and for the natural gas market, that happened on Wednesday as prices retreated following a three-day rally that sent the prompt month some 30 cents higher. With a warmer turn in the latest weather forecasts, the May Nymex gas futures contract settled at $1.783, down 6.9 cents day/day. June fell 5.3 cents to $1.896.

An increasingly tight supply/demand picture that began emerging over the past week, in part from much chillier April outlooks, sent natural gas forwards surging during the April 2-7 period. May prices jumped an average 30 cents, and similarly stout double-digit gains were seen through the remainder of summer, according toNGI’s Forward Look.

While some of the world’s largest oil producers were meeting to discuss potential curtailments, natural gas traders were making cuts of their own, slashing Nymex futures even further as demand impacts from Covid-19 became increasingly clear. After plunging as low as $1.721, the May contract settled Thursday at $1.733, down 5.0 cents day/day. June dropped 3.3 cents to $1.863.