Continuing the seesaw motion of trading over and under the $6 mark over the past couple of weeks, September natural gas futures on Monday dropped 29.9 cents to settle at $5.813. Action was fairly lively on the day as 93,882 contracts changed hands.
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LNG on West Coast Not a ‘Slam Dunk,’ Industry Experts Say
With an international audience assembled last week in Long Beach, CA, only a couple of miles from one of the proposed sites for the West Coast’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminals, a mixture of industry, government, consulting and consumer representatives outlined a mostly hopeful, but by no means assured, vision of LNG imports along the West Coast.
Forecasts Prompt Sell-Off; Futures Drop 14 Cents Ahead of EIA Data
Pressured by the prospect of warmer temperatures over the next couple weeks, the natural gas futures market Wednesday morning slipped to lows not seen since early December. However, after dropping down to fill in a key gap on the daily chart, the March contract gained back some of the ground it had lost. At $5.26, the prompt month was 14.4 cents lower for the session, but a dime above its early bottom. At 73,225, volume in the gas pit was moderate to heavy.
Colder Trends Unable to Avert Falling Weekend Prices
Losses of 30 cents or more at a couple of Northeast citygates topped overall softness in pricing Friday. Colder weather trends in some areas obviously didn’t perk up demand enough to overcome mild conditions in much of the East, the residual drag of Thursday’s 12-cent screen drop and the typical slump in industrial load over a weekend.
Moderating Forecasts Help Extend Price Declines
With the exception of a couple of flat Midwest citygates, prices ranged from barely lower to down more than 30 cents at the Southern California border Friday. Sources cited new forecasts indicating less severe cold weather over the weekend and this week as the chief factor in market weakness.
Competition Heats Up for West Coast LNG Terminal
Last week began with a couple of energy industry heavyweights announcing preliminary deals for liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies to be brought to proposed terminals along the North Baja Pacific coast in Mexico and ended with Sempra Energy’s CEO promising to build the first LNG terminal there.
Spreading Heat Helps Generate Mild Price Advances
Other than isolated softness at a couple of Rockies points and the Southern California border, the cash market ranged from flat to about a dime higher Wednesday. Although a majority of gains were quite small at a nickel or less, price movement was starting to be based more on hot-weather fundamentals and less on the screen’s previous-day performance.
April Stages Sharp Reversal, Drops 47.8 Cents
Forecasters finally are saying that Old Man Winter soon may be forced into retirement, and that news brought gas futures bears out of their caves on Monday. April futures staged a sharp reversal, opening 34.2 cents lower Monday morning and ending the day at $6.515, down 47.8 cents.
El Paso Pipe Note Offerings, Mid-Continent Reserve Sale Spark FERC’s Interest
A couple of transactions that were announced by El Paso Corp. earlier this week to improve its liquidity position have raised a red flag at FERC, which has asked the Houston-based energy company to furnish further details by mid-March.
S&P: Signs of Energy Merchant Company Bankruptcies ‘Getting Stronger’
All the signs in the energy merchant sector point to “falling business plans” for a couple of companies, “if not bankruptcy,” said Standard & Poor’s credit analyst Peter Rigby in a report on the future prospects for traders. “Few doubt that one or more energy merchant companies may soon file for bankruptcy. Signals are appearing and getting stronger.”