Heating

Despite predicted temperature moves that were more often slightly higher than conducive to boosting heating load, prices recorded single-digit gains at a large majority of points Tuesday.

Despite predicted temperature moves that were more often slightly higher than conducive to boosting heating load, prices recorded single-digit gains at a large majority of points Tuesday.

With a little extra backing from the previous Friday’s modest futures rally, cash prices found enough remaining heating load — often accompanied by winter storms — to range from flat to about 20 cents higher at a large majority of points Monday. However, nearly all of the gains were in single digits.

Front-month natural gas futures values reached almost a three-month low Monday as traders seemed resigned to the fact that the winter heating season — and its ability to draw down storage — are quickly running out of time. April futures recorded a low of $4.670 just after 12:30 p.m. EST before closing out the day’s session at $4.680, down 13.3 cents from Friday’s finish. The last time a front-month contract traded lower was back on Dec. 7, 2009, when the January 2010 contract notched a low of $4.644.

With a little extra backing from the previous Friday’s modest futures rally, cash prices found enough remaining heating load — often accompanied by winter storms — to range from flat to about 20 cents higher at a large majority of points Monday. However, nearly all of the gains were in single digits.

Front-month natural gas futures values reached almost a three-month low Monday as traders seemed resigned to the fact that the winter heating season — and its ability to draw down storage — are quickly running out of time. April futures recorded a low of $4.670 just after 12:30 p.m. EST before closing out the day’s session at $4.680, down 13.3 cents from Friday’s finish. The last time a front-month contract traded lower was back on Dec. 7, 2009, when the January 2010 contract notched a low of $4.644.

Schlumberger Ltd. CEO Andrew Gould said Friday it will take until the end of the winter heating season to determine whether the North American natural gas rig count will grow this year “because of the backlog of gas behind the pipe that hasn’t been stimulated and the number of wells that have not been completed.” And liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports, he said, are the wild card.

Schlumberger Ltd. CEO Andrew Gould said Friday it will take until the end of the winter heating season to determine whether the North American natural gas rig count will grow this year “because of the backlog of gas behind the pipe that hasn’t been stimulated and the number of wells that have not been completed.” Liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports, he said, are the wild card.

In an abrupt reversal, Northern Natural Gas ended a System Overrun Limitation (indicating heavy heating load) in all market-area zones Friday and said a System Underrun Limitation would take effect in all zones Sunday “due to the large warm-up expected over the weekend.” A bulletin board posting projected that Northern’s system-weighted average temperature would go from minus 4 Friday and plus 2 Saturday to 19 Sunday and 24 Monday.