Markets

After more than a decade of trying, and five months on from a resounding election victory, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) was scheduled to be sworn into office in Mexico Saturday (Dec. 1), while turnover of the country’s top energy positions continues.

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.

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.

Natural gas futures bulls lost ground Friday as forecasters pointed to a mid-December break from cold temperatures across much of the country. Physical prices continued to strengthen across the West, especially in Southern California, while deals for weekend and Monday delivery were generally discounted across the eastern two thirds of the country; theNGISpot GasNational Avg.increased 14.0 cents to $4.670/MMBtu.

New lows in West Texas headlined a week of mostly moderating natural gas prices in physical markets to close out the month of November; the NGI Weekly Spot Gas National Avg. tumbled 63.0 cents to $4.410/MMBtu.

Natural gas futures bulls lost ground Friday as forecasters pointed to a mid-December break from cold temperatures across much of the country. Physical prices continued to strengthen across the West, especially in Southern California, while deals for weekend and Monday delivery were generally discounted across the eastern two thirds of the country; the NGI Spot Gas National Avg. increased 14.0 cents to $4.670/MMBtu.