In the wake of last month’s record-high natural gas prices in the physical market, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) is raising its projected 2021 Henry Hub spot price average to $3.14/MMBtu.

The updated projection, issued on Tuesday as part of the agency’s latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), is nearly 20 cents higher than the $2.95 average Henry Hub spot price for 2021 that was predicted in last month’s STEO.

A well documented stretch of intense cold coupled with widespread production freeze-offs last month saw the average Henry Hub spot price soar to $5.35 in February, up from $2.71 in January, according to EIA. 

The February price marked the “highest nominal monthly average Henry Hub spot price since February 2014,” the agency said.

Coming down...