Markets

Physical gas for Thursday delivery inched higher in Wednesday’s trading, and while forecasts are calling for cooler Canadian air by the end of the week, shoulder season patterns on balance are benign and not likely to motivate significant buying or selling.

November natural gas is set to open 2 cents lower Tuesday morning at $2.51 as traders factor in a slight warming trend. Overnight oil markets were narrowly mixed.

The U.S. natural gas market appears to be evolving beyond the regional redefinitions, as summer demand continues to provide more parity to the winter markets.

A band of warm water lurking in the Pacific Ocean off Washington’s coast could emerge to impact winter weather patterns in the United States, but it likely is going to be trampled by a monster El Nino, according to weather forecasters.

Physical natural gas overall for Wednesday delivery moved little as advances in the East and Northeast were able to offset weakness in the Midcontinent, West Texas, San Juan and Rockies.

November natural gas is seen opening 2 cents higher Monday morning at $2.52 as the market makes a somewhat tepid response to weather forecasts calling for much cooler temperatures. Overnight oil markets were mixed.

Physical natural gas for Tuesday delivery posted stout gains in Monday’s trading as a combination of a firm screen, pipeline constraints and above-normal temperature patterns in the Northeast, and hefty generation forecasts on the West Coast all tugged prices higher.

Physical natural gas for the weekend and Monday was broadly lower in spite of some isolated market strength in the Northeast and Gulf Coast.

November natural gas is expected to open a penny lower Friday morning at $2.49 as traders see little weather support over the next two weeks. Overnight oil markets rose.