Markets

Physical natural gas for delivery Wednesday retreated in Tuesday’s trading as firming prices in the Midcontinent, Midwest, and Rockies were unable to offset larger scale weakness in New England prompted in large part by rescheduled maintenance.

May natural gas is set to open unchanged Tuesday morning at $3.06 as traders see the market requiring new input if the near-term trend lower is to continue. Overnight oil markets weakened.

May natural gas is expected to open 3 cents lower Monday morning at $3.07 as market fundamentals and now technicals portend lower prices. Overnight oil markets rose.

Next year will be a “breakout year” for U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), with cargos expected to emanate from four terminals. But don’t expect much help from that for natural gas prices, Raymond James & Associates Inc. said Monday.

Nearby residents and environmental activists working to permanently close the Aliso Canyon underground natural gas storage facility urged the Los Angeles City Council Friday to use a city-owned water/power utility to study alternatives for relying on the 86-Bcf capacity facility. More than a dozen residents spoke and a group of residents from the Save Porter Ranch and Food & Water Watchorganization cited a recent study by EES Consulting which concluded that the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) can meet summer and winter peaks without the Southern California Gas Co. storage facility. Opponents who have worked for more than a year to close Aliso Canyon permanently urged the city council to direct LADWP to conduct an independent study on alternatives to the gas storage field. The city is already a party in a proceeding being conducted by the California Public Utilities Commission, which ultimately, along with the state Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources, has theauthority to decide Aliso Canyon’s fate.

Winter is over for the long-distressed energy sector in North America, with upstream operators and service companies likely to have more spring in their steps as they offer up first quarter results.

Natural gas futures and forwards markets were lower across the curve for the period between April 13 and 20, with May shedding an average 6 cents as another retraction in the storage surplus and forecasts for mostly mild weather in the coming weeks pressured the market, according to NGI’sForward Look.

Next-day gas for Tuesday delivery generally eased in Monday trading as stout double-digit gains in New England were unable to counter broader setbacks at Midwest market points and producing zones.

May natural gas is set to open unchanged Friday morning at $3.16 as traders factor in highly variable weather and see technical support levels intact for the moment. Overnight oil markets were narrowly mixed.