Leticia Gonzales

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.

One day after a huge storage miss sent natural gas futures skyrocketing, weather models trended cooler for the end of August, sending prices several cents lower to cap the week. The September Nymex gas futures contract fell 3.2 cents to settle Friday at $2.20/MMBtu, and October dropped 3 cents to $2.207.

Oppressive heat spanning most of the United States supported natural gas futures Monday, but cooler-trending long-range outlooks combined with another production record to send prices lower for most of the session. Most analysts considered $2.15 to be the battle line, and bulls came out victorious after a late technical rally lifted the September gas futures contract by a penny to $2.21/MMBtu, while October rose six-tenths of a cent to $2.213.

Heat may not be all that impressive for the last week after all, but that didn’t stop natural gas futures from staging one of the most significant single-day rallies in months. After surging as high as $2.267, the September Nymex gas futures contract settled Thursday at $2.232, up 8.9 cents on the day. October jumped 8.3 cents to $2.237.

Natural gas forward prices were relatively stable from Aug. 9-14 amid more heat on tap for August, near-record production and a shift to more favorable conditions for Atlantic storms. The September contract rose only 3 cents on average, while smaller increases were seen throughout the rest of the curve, according to NGI’s Forward Look.

One day after a huge storage miss sent natural gas futures skyrocketing, weather models trended cooler for the end of August, sending prices several cents lower to cap the week. The September Nymex gas futures contract fell 3.2 cents to settle Friday at $2.20/MMBtu, and October dropped 3 cents to $2.207.

Triple-digit temperatures suffocated cities from the West Coast to Texas, lifting demand to record levels and driving up natural gas prices during the Aug. 12-16 week. Driven by the highest prices of the summer so far in the Permian Basin, the NGI Spot Gas Weekly Avg. climbed 9.5 cents to $1.985.

Natural gas futures were rather volatile on Wednesday as weather models remained relatively intact, with some datasets hotter and others cooler. Traders also weighed the impact of expectations for yet another larger-than-normal storage injection on Thursday. The September Nymex gas futures contract fluctuated in a roughly 8-cent range before going on to settle just four-tenths of a cent lower at $2.143. October slipped a half-cent to $2.154.

Natural gas forward prices were relatively stable from Aug. 9-14 amid increasingly hotter weather forecasts, near-record production and a shift to more favorable conditions for Atlantic storms. The September contract rose just 3 cents on average, while smaller increases were seen throughout the rest of the curve, according to NGI’s Forward Look.