Markets

After last week’s drubbing, natural gas futures gained modestly on Monday to start the new week, helped by some frigid temperatures in the 11-15 day outlook. The spot market firmed as well, even as prices moderated somewhat in the Northeast, and the NGI National Spot Gas Average added 4 cents to $2.98/MMBtu.

January natural gas was set to open about 4 cents higher at around $2.80 Friday, with the market showing signs of bouncing back from the prior day’s sell-off amid continued cold risks in the 11-15 day outlook.

The high in the U.S. energy capital of Houston reached 81 last Monday, but the city woke up to snow and chilly temperatures on Friday. Still, it wasn’t enough to convince the natural gas market that wintry weather was here to stay, although the long-range weather outlooks indicate frigid temperatures ahead. January forward prices plunged an average 35 cents from Dec. 1 to 7, according to NGI’s Forward Look.

Natural gas futures traded in a holding pattern Friday, adding less than a penny to the prompt-month contract to cap off a rough week for the bulls. Outside of strong weather-driven gains along the East Coast, the spot market softened also, with prices in some regions barely registering a reaction to the arrival of cold weather. The NGI National Spot Gas Average gained 8 cents to $2.94/MMBtu.

The arrival of winter cold following a period of mild temperatures helped lift natural gas spot prices in some regions this week, but a sell-off in futures showed it wasn’t cold enough to send the bears into hibernation. The NGI Weekly Spot Gas Average gained 18 cents to $2.89.

January natural gas was set to open about 8 cents lower Thursday at around $2.834/MMBtu after some warm changes showed up in the overnight weather data.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a net injection into U.S. gas stocks for the week ended Dec. 1, a bearish miss on what was already a bearish consensus leading up to the report.

Natural gas futures sold off sharply Thursday, with a rare December storage injection doing little to ease market concerns over volatility in the latest weather outlook. Outside of some strength in the Mid-Atlantic and New York, the bears controlled the spot market too, and the NGINational Spot Gas Average declined 12 cents to $2.86/MMBtu.

Ash and smoke spread throughout large swatches of the Los Angeles Basin on Wednesday, with three major ongoing wildfires spreading out of control and some new, more suburban-based blazes shutting the 405 Freeway in the heavily trafficked Sepulveda Pass between affluent hilltop residential neighborhoods and major campuses like UCLA and the Getty Center arts complex.