Markets

U.S. natural gas prices are looking weaker over the longer term, despite the recent rally, and the crude oil outlook, at least for now, is waning as well, energy analysts said Monday.

American Petroleum Institute (API) CEO Mike Sommers said the partial shutdown of the federal government, which reached its 18th day on Tuesday, hasn’t had a major impact on the oil and gas industry to date, but he warned that could change should the impasse continue.

Forecasts advertising a potential shift to chillier conditions in the East later this month helped boost natural gas futures Tuesday, though prices ultimately finished well off the session’s highs. In the spot market, expectations for cooler temperatures in the Midwest and East later this week coincided with double-digit gains across the eastern two-thirds of the Lower 48; the NGI Spot Gas National Avg. climbed 19.0 cents to $2.855/MMBtu.

Forecasts advertising a potential shift to chillier conditions in the East later this month helped boost natural gas futures Tuesday, though prices ultimately finished well off the session’s highs. In the spot market, expectations for cooler temperatures in the Midwest and East later this week coincided with double-digit gains across the eastern two-thirds of the Lower 48; the NGI Spot Gas National Avg. climbed 19.0 cents to $2.855/MMBtu.

A natural gas futures market left waiting for convincing signs of a return to more impressive winter heating demand sold off Monday. In the spot market, recent weakness continued as forecasters noted comfortable conditions for much of the Lower 48 to start the work week; the NGI Spot Gas National Avg. slid 3.5 cents to $2.665/MMBtu.

A natural gas futures market left waiting for convincing signs of a return to more impressive winter heating demand sold off Monday. In the spot market, recent weakness continued as forecasters noted comfortable conditions for much of the Lower 48 to start the work week; the NGI Spot Gas National Avg. slid 3.5 cents to $2.665/MMBtu.

February natural gas early Monday struggled to hold onto recent gains as long-range weather models were slow to show sustained cold moving into the country. The Nymex February gas futures contract was trading at $2.965, down 7.9 cents, just before 9 a.m. ET.

Europe, specifically the northwest part of the continent, will have to absorb the surplus liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies expected to hit the market this year as an economic slowdown, a more thoughtful approach on coal-to-gas switching and increased domestic infrastructure availability will lead to slower demand in China, according to Wood Mackenzie.

Natural gas futures prices were slightly stronger early Friday as weather models showed colder weather moving in for the second half of January, especially in key demand centers of the country. The Nymex February gas futures contract was trading 7.5 cents higher at $3.02 with the market also awaiting fresh storage data, which was expected to reflect deficits that continue to tighten because of recent mild weather.