In a continuation of an eventful shoulder season marked by supply fears and geopolitical anxieties, the April 21-27 trading period brought futures volatility and broad gains at most natural gas forward trading locations, NGI’s Forward Look data show.

West Texas forward basis curves

Outside of a few hubs in the Rockies, Southwest and Texas, where pipeline maintenance appeared to impact prices, fixed-price front-month forwards trended higher week/week. Fixed prices for May at Henry Hub jumped 33.0 cents higher to $7.268/MMBtu.

Volatility characterized Nymex futures action during the period, with sharp moves in both directions, culminating in a 41.7-cent rally to close out trading of the May contract on Wednesday. 

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