Markets

Williams cut its quarterly dividend to 20 cents from 64 cents and outlined plans to strengthen its balance sheet and credit profile as it builds out large-scale infrastructure to capitalize on growing demand for natural gas.

The United States exported 104.63 Bcf (3.38 Bcf/d) to Mexico through pipelines in May, the most of any month on record and a 21% increase compared with 86.81 Bcf (2.80 Bcf/d) exported in May 2015, according to Energy Information Administration (EIA) data.

Physical gas for Wednesday delivery weakened in Tuesday’s trading as robust pricing in the Northeast and modest gains in Appalachia were not able to offset weakness in Texas, the Gulf Coast, Midcontinent and Midwest points.

September natural gas is set to open 3 cents lower Monday morning at $2.85 as traders look at attractive hedging and selling opportunities and weather forecasts warm. Overnight oil markets fell.

August bidweek could aptly be characterized as “You win some, you lose some,” as prices gave back some of the 86-cent gain market bulls enjoyed in July bidweek pricing. NGI”s National Bidweek Average fell 23 cents from July to $2.43, which is only 13 cents below the August 2015 bidweek average.

Gains in the Northeast, Rockies, and Appalachia could not counter losses in the Southeast, Gulf, Midcontinent and Midwest, and at the end of the day theNGI National Spot Gas Average fell 4 cents to $2.62.

September natural gas is set to open 2 cents lower Friday morning at $2.85 as traders see a market at the upper end of its recent trading range and at the same time factor in expected above-normal temperatures in the weeks ahead. Overnight oil markets continued to melt down.

The second quarter proved to be no better than the first three months of the year for the two largest U.S. oil and gas operators, with No. 1 ExxonMobil Corp. recording a 60% slump in year/year profits and Chevron Corp. recording its third straight loss in a row, this time for $1.5 billion.

Natural gas forwards markets ended July with a bang as bullish storage news and scorching temperatures sent September prices up an average 9.4 cents for the period between July 22 and 28, according to NGI Forward Look.