Markets

February natural gas is expected to open 3 cents lower Wednesday morning at $3.30 as weather models stabilize and pipeline operators ready for oncoming high usage. Overnight oil markets rose.

The physical natural gas and futures markets decided to take opposite paths in trading Wednesday as physical prices in eastern markets were buoyed by a near 20-degree drop in temperatures and supportive power pricing. TheNGI National Spot Gas Average gained 5 cents to $3.49.

February natural gas is set to open at $3.46, a stout 26 cents lower, Tuesday morning as weather models show a generally warmer outlook. Overnight oil markets surged.

Natural gas bidweek buyers looking out across the weather/storage landscape lost no time in locking in supplies as a previous storage surplus slid into deficit to both last year and the five-year average and forecasters were calling for successive incursions of cold, Canadian air. The NGI National Bidweek Average rose a hefty $1.11 to $4.31, and all points followed by NGI were solidly in the black, some by multiple dollars.

Physical natural gas took a few pages from the futures playbook Tuesday and fell hard.

February natural gas is expected to open 4 cents lower Friday morning at $3.76 as traders moderate their expectations of further weather-driven price gains. Overnight oil markets weakened.

Thailand’s PTT Public Ltd. Co. has struck an agreement with BP plc for about 1 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for 20 years beginning in 2017. LNG is to be sourced from BP’s supply portfolio, including the Freeport LNG export project in Texas.

Double-digit swings marked the final days of trading in 2016 for natural gas forwards and futures markets as the second 200+ draw from storage and forecasts of widespread cold to blanket much of the U.S. beginning late in the coming week ultimately sent February prices up an average of 28.5 cents between Dec. 23 and 29, according to NGI Forward Look.

Natural gas bulls might not be too excited for the way 2017 is kicking off, as physical natural gas for Sunday January 1 through Tuesday January 3 delivery eased a few pennies on Friday. Gains in California and the Rockies were unable to offset broader setbacks in Producing Zones and Midwest Market Zones, as well as the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.