Temperatures

Physical natural gas trading Friday for weekend and Monday delivery overall was flat in uninspired trading. With few exceptions, prices flip-flopped within a nickel of unchanged.

Undeterred by the formation of Tropical Storm Erin off the coast of Africa, physical natural gas prices on Thursday for Friday delivery slumped across much of the country, except for much of California, which saw individual points rise from a penny to a nickel.

A cooler-than-normal July for much of the United States led to decreased levels of demand for natural gas and coal to fuel power plants in a trend that is expected to continue for the rest of the summer, according to data collected by Genscape Inc.

The physical natural gas market continued its trek lower losing 4 cents on average overall Wednesday. Losses were close to a nickel in the Midwest, about 3 cents in the Midcontinent and about a nickel lower at most major market centers. At the close of futures trading September had posted a new five-month low closing at $3.247, down 7.1 cents on the day. October also dropped 7.1 cents to $3.272. September crude oil fell 93 cents to $104.37/bbl.

Physical natural gas prices nationally on Monday for Tuesday delivery meandered lower by a couple of pennies, with the East mixed and Northeast posting modest gains and most other points falling a couple of pennies or more. Northeast temperatures were expected to stay below seasonal norms, and traders saw the gains as within a normal margin of error. At the close, September natural gas had fallen 2.8 cents to $3.319 and October was off 2.9 cents to $3.346. September crude oil slid 38 cents to $106.56/bbl.

Oil and natural gas prices are facing a “third variable” on plentiful natural gas liquids (NGL), which appears to be creating the next domestic supply glut, a KeyBanc Capital Markets (KBCM) analyst said Wednesday.

Is the next U.S. energy boom following shale going to evolve around oilsands? A Canadian producer is testing the viability of the unconventional oil based on its work to date in Utah.

Cold temperatures in the Northeast have prompted constraints on Spectra Energy’s Algonquin Gas Transmission and Maritimes & Northeast (M&N) Pipeline, according to customer notices on the pipelines’ bulletin boards.

Natural gas duked it out with coal at a record pace in 2Q2012, and third-in-a-row hot summer temperatures helped to knock out more of the gas storage overhang, but the rest of the injection season may turn into a delicate tango between coal displacement and low prices, Barclays Capital energy analysts said Thursday. “Sufficient” displacement may not be achieved unless gas prices average in the mid $2 range in September and October, said analysts Shiyang Wang and Michael Zenker.