Leticia Gonzales

Price action in the natural gas futures market has been as exciting as watching paint dry so far this week, and Wednesday’s swing brought the action down another notch. The Nymex May gas futures contract settled a meager one-tenth of a cent higher at $2.70, while June rose 0.3 cents to $2.742.

Price action in the natural gas futures market has been as exciting as watching paint dry so far this week, and Wednesday’s swing brought the action down another notch. The Nymex May gas futures contract settled a meager one-tenth of a cent higher at $2.70, while June rose 0.3 cents to $2.742.

Despite the current oversupply situation in the global gas market, industry leaders believe more investments in liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects are needed in order to keep pace with demand by the middle of the next decade, although trends in pricing and project scale are likely to evolve beyond traditional norms.

Natural gas futures continued to gain ground Monday despite warmer changes to weather outlooks. Strong cash prices at the end of last week that further strengthened at key pricing locations for the start of this week lent support to the futures strip, with the Nymex May contract settling 4.4 cents higher at $2.708/MMBtu and June rising 4.2 cents to $2.748.

Natural gas futures continued to gain ground Monday despite warmer changes to weather outlooks. Strong cash prices at the end of last week that further strengthened at key pricing locations for the start of this week lent support to the futures strip, with the Nymex May contract settling 4.4 cents higher at $2.708/MMBtu and June rising 4.2 cents to $2.748.

In the throes of the shoulder season, natural gas forward prices sank further during the March 28-April 3 period amid a healthy supply picture, mild weather and storage inventories that were seen as easily being replenished this summer. May, June and balance-of-summer (May-October) prices slid an average 5 cents, while Permian Basin forward prices joined their cash counterparts in negative territory, according to NGI’s Forward Look.

Much like the rest of the week, there was little fundamental change Friday to move natural gas futures prices significantly in one direction or the other. The Nymex May gas futures contract climbed 2.1 cents to settle at $2.664, capping off a week in which prices budged less than a nickel each day. June also tacked on 2 cents to settle at $2.706.

Much like the rest of the week, there was little fundamental change Friday to move natural gas futures prices significantly in one direction or the other. The Nymex May gas futures contract climbed 2.1 cents to settle at $2.664, capping off a week in which prices budged less than a nickel each day. June also tacked on 2 cents to settle at $2.706.

Pandemonium in the Permian Basin kicked up a notch during the April 1-5 week as regional gas prices — which held below zero for much of the previous week — fell further into negative territory with trades plummeting to a fresh minus $9 low.