Trading

April natural gas is set to open 2 cents lower Monday morning at $2.93 as weather forecasts show little change from the ongoing mild pattern and risk managers study the short side of the market. Overnight oil markets fell.

April natural gas is set to open 3 cents higher Thursday morning at $2.93 as overnight weather models call for near-term cooling and analysts study seasonal price patterns. Overnight oil markets dived once again.

April natural gas is seen opening 9 cents higher Monday morning at $2.92 as traders respond to forecast cooling. Overnight oil markets were mixed.

The weekly change in spot futures has a way of correctly forecasting the direction in the NGI Weekly Spot Gas Average for the following week, and this week was no exception. Last week, the February contract fell a stout 43.9 cents and for the week ended January 13 the NGI Weekly Spot Gas Average gave up 33 cents to $3.22.

Physical natural gas for Thursday trading on balance was able to eke out a small gain Wednesday, but futures bulls were not up to the challenge of following through on Tuesday’s 17-cent advance.

The physical natural gas and futures markets decided to take opposite paths in trading Wednesday as physical prices in eastern markets were buoyed by a near 20-degree drop in temperatures and supportive power pricing. TheNGI National Spot Gas Average gained 5 cents to $3.49.

Going into the weekend, buyers and sellers on Friday for weekend and Monday deliveries were mostly balanced, as a strong Northeast and Appalachia were able to offset weakness in Texas, Louisiana, the Rockies and California.

After the physical natural gas market took a 14 cent drubbing for weekend and Monday packages, the stage was set for a rebound in Monday’s trading. Physical prices got most of it back, with the NGI National Spot Gas Average posting a 13-cent rise to $2.69 and healthy double-digit gains spread across the board.

FERC filed a request for comments Thursday on a pair of route variations for the Atlantic Sunrise expansion proposed by Williams Partners’ Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co. LLC (Transco), raising speculation in the market that the project could be delayed.