Cents

December natural gas is set to open 8 cents lower Monday morning at $2.24 as continued warm temperatures are forecast in important population centers for the next five days. Overnight oil markets fell.

For the second straight week, forwards markets moved lower for the period between Oct. 23 and Oct. 29 even after a bullish surprise storage report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Not even a less-than-expected storage fill was enough to move most natural gas forwards prices into the black for the week as market players remained fixated on the mild weather encompassing the majority of the country.

November natural gas is expected to open 4 cents higher Monday morning at $2.47 as near-term model runs predict a stout increase in GWHDDS. Overnight oil markets slumped.

Prompt-month and balance-of-winter (December-March) prices at a couple of Northeast natural gas market hubs were pressured during the week as ample production and stout inventories have left the region awash in supplies given the absence of cold weather.

October forward fixed prices fell across the board between trading Friday, Aug. 28, and Wednesday, Sept. 2, as traders started to focus on fall and began to put summer temperature concerns in the rearview mirror. On average, points covered byNGI’s Forward Look dropped 4.4 cents and were brought lower by a falling Henry Hub October futures contract that dropped 6.7 cents from $2.175 to $2.648 over the period.

Amongst milder weather and the comfortable lethargy of August trading, the forward market as measured by NGI’s Forward Lookmoved up just less than three cents on average since the close of trading on Aug. 21. For traders at many index locations, the price of September gas seems to have already been worked out with the start of the month less than a week away. However, there is one exception.

September natural gas is expected to open 3 cents higher Wednesday morning at $2.73 as overnight six- to 10-day weather models turned slightly warmer. Overnight oil markets fell.

With the exception of a few “hot spots,” physical natural gas for weekend and Monday delivery traded lower Friday.