Markets

It was a month of extremes for natural gas markets in November, featuring surging futures and negative spot trades in West Texas as early heating season cold brought volatility back with a vengeance; the NGI Bidweek National Avg. rocketed $1.955 higher to $5.14/MMBtu.

Although last week offered glimpses of warmer temperatures forecast to arrive by the middle of December, recent volatility in weather models kept natural gas market bears treading lightly. That changed Monday when milder weather trends rolled into the medium range, sustained warmth to close out the month became a possibility and production data pointed to a new high.

Although last week offered glimpses of warmer temperatures forecast to arrive by the middle of December, recent volatility in weather models kept natural gas market bears treading lightly. That changed Monday when milder weather trends rolled into the medium range, sustained warmth to close out the month became a possibility and production data pointed to a new high.

January natural gas futures were trading 31.5 cents lower at $4.297/MMBtu shortly before 9 a.m. ET Monday as forecasts over the weekend maintained expectations for a stretch of milder temperatures starting next week.

Twenty-five leading natural gas marketers added another 8.04 Bcf/d (7%) to their total sales volumes in 3Q2018 compared with the same period last year, a fourth consecutive quarter with a significant upward trend, according to NGI’s 3Q2018 Top North American Natural Gas Marketers rankings.

January natural gas futures were trading 3.4 cents lower at $4.612/MMBtu shortly before 9 a.m. ET Friday as forecasters continued to note long-range mild trends showing cold easing into mid-December.

Most global oil and gas executives expect to make deals to buy or sell assets in 2019, nearly 10% above the global average, with most of the activity likely to be in the United States, spurred by onshore transactions, and in Canada, according to a recent survey.

After months of negotiations, President Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto on Friday signed a new trilateral trade agreement on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

With cold weather forecast for the medium range but the possibility of warmer weather later next month, forward prices across the country were mixed but mostly stronger for the Nov. 21-28 period, according to NGI’s Forward Look. December prices averaged 24 cents higher, while January tacked on an average 21 cents.