Markets

A lower-than-expected natural gas storage withdrawal and forecasts for continued mild weather for much of the rest of the month sent March natural gas forward prices down an average of 18 cents between Feb. 10 and 16, according to NGI Forward Look.

Physical natural gas buyers saw little reason to commit to four-day deals Friday as mild near-term weather, abundant storage, and low expected power loads conspired to limit demand.

Both physical and financial natural gas prices suffered what seemed to be a never ending succession of weather outlooks calling for unusual winter warmth during the week that ended Feb. 17. All points followed by NGI fell into the loss column and the NGI Weekly National Spot Gas Average tumbled 20 cents to $2.75.

March natural gas is set to open 2 cents lower Thursday morning at $2.91 as weather forecasts call for even milder near-term temperatures. Overnight oil markets rose.

Natural gas futures retreated Thursday morning after the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a storage withdrawal that was significantly less than what traders were expecting.

Traders will typically try to get their physical deals done before the 10:30 a.m EST release of natural gas storage data by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), and for a moment Thursday it looked as if the next-day traders may have jumped the gun.

March natural gas is expected to open 5 cents higher Wednesday morning at $2.95 as traders note little change in more deferred temperature outlooks. Overnight oil markets eased.

President Trump signed legislation Tuesday repealing Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules that would have required U.S. energy and mining companies to disclose payments they make to foreign governments.

Most physical points moved only a little in Wednesday natural gas trading for next-day delivery as weather forecasts in the East showed falling temperatures and the Midwest was expected to see sharply rising temperatures. The NGI National Spot Gas Average added 4 cents to $2.83, and most of the day’s price movement was confined to eastern points.