Prices were mixed in Wednesday’s resumption of trading after a four-day holiday weekend, but generally tended to be stronger in the Midcontinent and West and weaker in the Gulf Coast and Northeast. Rains were dampening power generation load from New Mexico and Texas through the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic, and below normal temperatures in several other areas left the desert Southwest as the only remaining repository of high heat levels.
Weaker
Articles from Weaker
EEA: Mother Nature May Not Be So Kind Next Winter
Recent weaker market conditions have not changed the underlying tight gas supply/demand balance, energy consultant Kevin Petak of Energy and Environmental Analysis (EEA) said in a presentation to the Natural Gas Council (NGC) on Tuesday. Petak predicts that Henry Hub gas prices will average between $5 and $8/MMBtu for the next few years with longer-term prices in parity with crude oil prices.
Bearish Influences Fail to Avert Price Gains
Bearish weather fundamentals and a weaker prior-day screen be damned! The cash market shrugged off its negative influences and posted gains at nearly all points Thursday. A couple of instances of flatness and an intra-Alberta decline were the exceptions to overall price firmness.
Colder Weather Lights Fire Under Prices Again
Just as some moderation of cold weather was able to turn the cash market weaker in the latter half of last week, the return of lower temperatures spurred price rallies across the board Monday. All upticks were in double digits except one, and that was the Algonquin citygate’s dollar-plus spike.
Cash Prices Mixed, Volatile on Uncertainty Over Gulf Outages
The cash market was mixed Tuesday because of slightly weaker futures prices (October down 3.4 cents to $11.657) and continuing uncertainty over the status of Gulf production and the extent of the damage to Gulf infrastructure. Daily cash price changes were anywhere from down nearly $2 in the case of Florida Gas Transmission’s Zone 2 and 3 to up about 30 cents at a couple of Gulf Coast points.
Northeast Keeps Plunging, Leads Overall Market Lower
The cash market was predictably weaker Friday, with continuing triple-digit and quadruple-digit plunges at Northeast citygates leading the trek downward. Non-Northeast losses were as small as a nickel, but mostly ranged between 20 and 90 cents.
Conflicting Weather Forecasts Stump Traders; Technicals Turning Up
After opening lower in sympathy with weaker cash prices, the natural gas futures market worked its way back to unchanged Monday as traders groped for fair value amid contrasting weather outlooks.
Mild Weather Forecasts, Weak Cash Deposit Futures at New Five-Week Lows
Pressured by revised weather forecasts and weaker cash market prices, the natural gas futures market free-fell lower Monday to notch its lowest point in more than a month. The November contract was the hardest hit by the selling, dropping 27.4 cents to close at $4.512.
Late Rebound Notches Five in a Row for Nymex Bulls
After slipping lower Wednesday morning in concert with weaker crude oil futures, the natural gas futures market stair-stepped higher in the afternoon to post a positive close for the session. Although slight, the 0.8-cent advance was the fifth-straight daily advance for the November contract. It finished at $5.148, up nearly 60 cents from last Thursday’s $4.565 low.
Price Increases Continue, But at Slower Rate
Prices were still on the rise in most cases Monday despite somewhat weaker weather fundamentals, but the gains generally were smaller than those for the weekend. A majority of increases were fairly mild in single digits, although several Northeast citygates and scattered other points rose by dime-plus amounts. A few points were flat.