Delivery

Physical natural gas prices Tuesday for delivery Wednesday experienced broad and pervasive selling as a weak screen, expectations of sizeable storage builds, and no tropical activity pulled the plug on pricing. Overall, prices settled on average 8 cents lower, and virtually no points made it to the positive side of the trading ledger. At the close of futures trading, October had fallen 11 cents to $3.492 and November was down by 11.8 cents to $3.559. November crude oil fell 46 cents to $103.13/bbl.

In a bid to loosen the natural gas capacity constraints that are plaguing the Marcellus Shale region and wreaking havoc on associated pricing points, upgrades in the form of pipeline loops and compression upgrades are coming online virtually every week.

Physical natural gas values for Thursday delivery overall on average fell a penny Wednesday. Double-digit losses at some Northeast points were offset by modest changes within a penny or two of unchanged elsewhere. Gulf locations were about unchanged and Rocky Mountain locations were a few pennies on the positive side of the trading ledger. At the close of trading September futures had gained 1.6 cents to $3.460 and October was 1.8 cents higher at $3.491. October crude oil fell $1.26 to $103.85/bbl.

Natural gas prices for Wednesday physical delivery overall averaged a penny lower Tuesday despite some significant individual point gains in the Marcellus Shale. Elsewhere, most gains and losses were more or less equally dispersed, with most points trading a nickel on either side of unchanged.

The natural gas cash market added 2 cents on average overall Tuesday for Wednesday delivery with small gains and small losses at most points characterizing the day’s trading. Midwest points were mixed as weather outlooks held to seasonal norms, and Gulf points were a few pennies higher. At the close of lackluster futures trading September had drifted lower by 0.1 cent to $3.318 and October had eased 0.3 cent to $3.343. September crude oil dropped $1.26 to $105.30/bbl.

TransCanada Corp. moved Thursday to calm a hornets’ nest of protest among its natural gas customers in Ontario, Quebec and the northeastern United States by making a formal promise to maintain service continuity.

EQT Gathering LLC has filed an application to build and operate the Derry Compressor Station in Westmoreland, PA, and other compression facilities to move natural gas from the Marcellus Shale region to interstate markets.

Cash natural gas prices Friday for Monday delivery followed the lead of Thursday’s futures and fell 16 cents on average. Almost all points fell into the loss column, and only a few market points escaped double-digit losses.

Physical gas for weekend and Monday delivery overall eased a penny as traders saw little incentive to buy a three-day package under conditions of mild expected weather and the ability to easily make intraday purchases as needed.