Markets

Mild temperature regimes on each coast were enough to keep buyers on the bench Tuesday, and next-day physical gas prices fell the most on the East and West coasts.

November natural gas is expected to open 4 cents higher Monday morning at $2.47 as near-term model runs predict a stout increase in GWHDDS. Overnight oil markets slumped.

Next-day gas was mostly higher in Monday’s trading, with producing regions adding a few pennies and market zones such as the Northeast tacking on double-digit advances. Stout gains in next-day power in the Northeast gave gas buyers an incentive to make incremental purchases although weather forecasts called for a return to milder temperatures.

November natural gas is expected to open 2 cents lower Friday morning at $2.43 as traders continue to digest a storage dynamic that features ongoing burdensome inventories. Overnight oil markets rose.

With less than two weeks before Halloween and only a blip of cold weather on the radar, natural gas forwards markets were nothing to write home about as most points shed about 5 cents while Northeast points gained about that much amid a fast-moving cold front in the region over the weekend.

Physical natural gas for weekend and Monday delivery was a tale of two markets in Friday’s trading as quotes in the Northeast rocketed higher on much cooler than normal temperature forecasts and the West suffered double-digit losses amid a weak power environment and a seasonal temperature regime.

November natural gas is expected to open 3 cents higher Thursday morning at $2.55 as traders assess what they see as an oversold market that is ready to advance once cooler weather emerges. Overnight oil markets were mixed.

The 2015 natural gas storage refill season continued at a blinding clip Thursday morning as the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that 100 Bcf was injected into underground stores for the week ending Oct. 9.

Most forecasters are expecting a strong El Nino event to help make the upcoming winter relatively mild, and that, in turn, will help to limit energy shortages and price volatility, according to a Winter Energy Market Assessment issued by FERC’s Office of Enforcement (OE) Thursday.