Points

Physical natural gas for Wednesday delivery continued the ascent established in Monday’s trading as weather forecasts continued to turn still colder and the expired January futures contract as well as the rest of the curve provided strong financial support for buyers to make incremental purchases.

Physical natural gas for weekend and Monday delivery slumped in Friday’s trading as traders were reluctant to commit to 3-day deals in spite of weather forecasts calling for above normal temperatures in populous eastern markets.

On the surface it looked like a benign week of trading as overall prices moved little and many areas of the country experienced only modest price changes. The NGI National Weekly Spot Gas Average fell just a penny to $2.44, but larger moves in the East and California may augur a shifting natural gas price landscape.

On the surface it looked like a benign week of trading as overall prices moved little and many areas of the country experienced only modest price changes. The NGI National Weekly Spot Gas Average fell just a penny to $2.44, but larger moves in the East and California may augur a shifting natural gas price landscape.

Closing out a disjointed week of ups and downs, physical natural gas prices for weekend and Monday delivery stayed the course Friday with most points adding or subtracting a few pennies to a nickel.

Five years ago utility National Fuel Gas Distribution Corp. put in place a long-term strategy to supply Pennsylvania and New York natural gas utility customers with gas from long-haul pipelines from the Gulf Coast. The Marcellus Shale has since sent that strategy out the window.

Nearly all active physical natural gas trading points declined Friday weekend and Monday delivery. The average setback was 8 cents, with Rockies points dropping a dime and losses at New England points closer to a nickel.

Physical natural gas prices for Tuesday delivery overall fell a penny on average Monday as most points fluctuated within a few cents of unchanged. Modest strength in the Midcontinent and double-digit gains at certain Marcellus points were unable to offset broad weakness elsewhere. At the close of trading October futures had retreated 8.5 cents to $3.602 and November was off 8.6 cents to $3.677. November crude oil dropped $1.16 to $103.59/bbl.

Weekend and Monday delivery of physical gas slipped 2 cents on average Friday. More points were positive than negative, and a balanced market was able to overcome steep declines at Marcellus points. Locations in the Midwest were able to land in the plus column and California points were mostly higher by a couple of pennies. At the close of futures trading, October had risen 3.9 cents to $3.677 and November was up by 4.3 cents to $3.755. October crude oil fell 39 cents to $108.21/bbl.