Bidweek

Going into March Bidweek, natural gas traders were in something of a quandary at the end of February as much of the country was still firmly within the grasp of Ol’ Man Winter, but at the same time weather and temperatures could change substantially by the end of March. For the most part, traders took a tempered approach to bidweek purchases and were content to focus on an anticipated milder temperature regime for the back half of March.

March futures led off its run as the prompt month on a downward track, tumbling 26.7 cents to close out the week Friday at $2.69, after storage withdrawals failed to live up to their advance billing, but some weather forecasters saw encouragement in some possibly approaching cold weather.

Bidweek prices must have taken a page or two from the petroleum playbook as February quotes slid across the country. Only a handful of points managed gains, and losses of 25 cents to 50 cents were common.

For natural gas buyers 2015 couldn’t have started out on a sweeter note. Stout production and a mild start to winter that contributed to meager storage withdrawals saw January 2015 bidweek prices tumble across the board, with only the Northeast failing to register declines greater than $1. The NGI Henry Hub Bidweek Average for January 2015 dropped $1.10 from the December average to $3.19, the greatest decline in more than four years.

All it took was a return of the polar vortex to send December bidweek prices soaring. All market points were solidly in the black, with triple digit gains common in Market Areas and solid double digit gains in Producing Zones.

Friday December 26, 2014 will be considered a holiday for both daily and bidweek natural gas trading and NGI’s price surveys. This is based on feedback from market participants to NGI’s notice of the proposed change, published in the Nov. 24 issue (see Daily GPI,Nov. 24and NGI’s Shale Daily,Nov. 24).

Gas buyers were all smiles as November bidweek trading drew to a close. Mild October temperatures kept prices on a short leash, and the NGI November Bidweek National Average fell 15 cents to $3.40. Declines were widespread and prices generally fell in the range of 25-30 cents or more in both major consuming and producing regions. The only bidweek gains were registered in the Northeast and ranged from as much as $2 or more in New England to just a few pennies in the Marcellus.

October bidweek pricing took on the look of an Elvis Presley concert and came out “All Shook Up” as most points nationally were generally a nickel or so on either side of unchanged. At the extremes, however, sellers on Algonquin Citygate and Tennessee Zone 6 200 L enjoyed 72-cent and 71-cent boosts, respectively, to average $3.37 and $3.44, while buyers reveled in a 22-cent drop at SoCal Border to $4.01. The NGI October National Bidweek Average came in at $3.55, up a nickel from September, and 11 cents higher than October 2013’s National Bidweek Average.

It was a tale of two bidweek markets for September: the Northeast and everyone else. The NGI September Bidweek National Average gained by a somewhat mediocre 4 cents to $3.50 over August Bidweek. But excluding a few points in California, double-digit gains were recorded at most all points outside the Northeast.