Leticia Gonzales

After somewhat of a breather earlier in August, natural gas forward prices resumed their slide during the Aug. 16-21 period as weather outlooks showed the intense heat that has suffocated much of the United States this week finally easing. With cooler air set to move in and linger through early September, forward prices were down a nickel or more through the winter strip, with smaller shifts of a few pennies further out the curve, according to NGI’s Forward Look.

The battle over $2.15 natural gas waged on Friday, with bears already pouring their pumpkin-spiced lattes as weather models maintained a fall-like U.S. pattern through early September. Near-record production and liquefied natural gas (LNG) intake also held firm, leaving little reason for a significant move for the September Nymex futures contract, which settled Friday at $2.152/MMBtu, down seven-tenths of a cent on the day. October fell by the same amount to $2.156.

Scorching temperatures did little to significantly boost weekly cash prices, with Texas posting gains of less than a nickel at most pricing hubs and Permian Basin prices crumbling under pipeline maintenance-induced pressure.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a 59 Bcf injection into storage inventories for the week ending Aug. 16, which fell well within the range of estimates, though a few Bcf below several highball projections.

After netting barely 2 cents over the previous two sessions, natural gas futures took a more definitive turn on Wednesday as widespread summer heat appears to be drawing to a close. Following a steep sell-off in cash markets, the September Nymex futures contract tumbled 4.8 cents to $2.17, and October fell 4.2 cents to $2.177.

After somewhat of a breather last week, natural gas forward prices resumed their slide during the Aug. 16-21 period as weather outlooks showed the intense heat that has suffocated much of the United States this week finally easing. With cooler air set to move in and linger through early September, forward prices were down a nickel or more through the winter strip, with smaller shifts of a few pennies further out the curve, according to NGI’s Forward Look.

Storage data that proved to be a non-event made for the third quiet trading session this week for natural gas futures prices. The September contract settled Thursday at $2.159, down 1.1 cents, and October slipped 1.4 cents to $2.163.

An increasingly bullish background for the natural gas market is building with the onset of commercial liquefied natural gas (LNG) export operations along the Gulf Coast, but production is proving to be a tough barrier for prices to overcome. With long-term weather outlooks once again trending cooler, the September Nymex gas contract swung in and out of positive territory before going on to settle only eight-tenths of a cent higher Tuesday at $2.218/MMBtu. October rose six-tenths of a cent to $2.219.

After netting barely 2 cents over the previous two sessions, natural gas futures took a more definitive turn on Wednesday as widespread summer heat appears to be drawing to a close. Following a steep sell-off in cash markets, the September Nymex futures contract tumbled 4.8 cents to $2.17, and October fell 4.2 cents to $2.177.