A shoulder season slump brought on partly by a run of ample storage builds saw natural gas forwards fall sharply during the Oct. 6-12 trading period, NGI’s Forward Look data show.

With the year-on-five-year-average inventory deficit shrinking fast, forcing a recalibration of the market’s winter risk assessment in the process, November fixed prices at most Lower 48 hubs sold off by 40 cents or more week/week.

Benchmark Henry Hub set the pace, with front month fixed prices dropping 49.5 cents to $6.440/MMBtu during the Oct. 6-12 period.

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Nymex futures similarly experienced downward...