Forward Look

For the third week in a row, natural gas forwards markets surged by double-digits as much of the U.S. was experiencing bitterly frigid temperatures. And talk of a Polar Vortex in the upcoming week had the market shivering in its snowboots, according to NGI’s Forward Look.

Gains of 30 cents or more were the norm for most natural gas forwards markets for the period between Nov. 23 and Dec. 1 as the string of weather systems bringing cooler-than-normal temperatures continues to sweep across the U.S., according to NGI’sForward Look.

After climbing three straight sessions, natural gas prompt-month forward prices rose an average 15.6 cents between Nov. 18 and 22 as cold weather systems are finally making their way across large portions of the U.S., bringing rain and snow to some areas.

Mother Nature threw natural gas markets a bone this week when the mere mention of chilly weather sent December forwards prices up an average 5.5 cents between Nov. 11 and 17, NGI’s Forward Look data shows.

This week’s presidential election wasn’t the only thing sending shockwaves through the natural gas industry. Persistently mild weather and expectations of bearish storage news once again took a toll on natural gas forwards markets, which swung wildly between Nov. 4 and 9 and ultimately slid about 8 cents on average, according to NGI’s Forward Look.

The steep losses that were seen as November rolled off the natural gas forwards curve paled in comparison to the cannonball splash December made during its first week at the front of the curve, when prices plummeted an average 34.4 cents between Oct. 28 and Nov. 3, and several markets lost upwards of 50 cents, according to NGI’s Forward Look.

Just days before Halloween, November natural gas forwards prices in playing the part of Ichabod Crane fell off their high horse — tumbling an average of 18.5 cents between Oct. 21 and 27 — as the humdrum of shoulder season gripped the market and gas storage inventories closed in on last year’s record-breaking levels, according to NGI’s Forward Look.

Natural gas forwards markets wiped out last week’s gains, plunging some 16 cents on average between Oct. 14 and 20, as the market continues to wait for cold weather to arrive and grapples with record storage inventories.

November natural gas forward prices averaged 11 cents higher between Oct. 7 and 13, setting the stage for hefty double-digit increases across the front half of the curve and reminding the market that weather isn’t always necessary to spook prices.