Markets

Physical natural gas prices for Tuesday delivery bounded higher Monday as traders dealt with weather patterns more reminiscent of January than April. Outside the Northeast, most points tallied gains of a nickel to a dime, but eastern locations and New England in particular lifted the National Avg. by more than 20 cents.

Shoulder season weather is in full effect for most of the country as physical natural gas values Friday for weekend and Monday delivery slumped everywhere except for the Northeast, where gains were recorded as much of the region was expected to see one last shot of winter cold over the weekend.

Natural gas prices for May shifted less than nickel at most market hubs between March 28 and 31 as mostly bearish weather on tap for the next couple of weeks and an in-line storage report left the market relatively idle, according to NGI’s Forward Look.

May natural gas is set to open unchanged at $2 Thursday morning as traders expect a government storage report to show a wider degree of variability than normal compared to industry estimates. Overnight oil markets were mixed.

Natural gas futures worked lower Thursday morning despite the fact that the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a storage withdrawal that was somewhat greater than what the market was expecting.

Friday is D-Day for natural gas pipelines to make the switch over to a new transportation nominations schedule designed to help coordinate the natural gas and power markets.

Physical natural gas traded Thursday for Friday gained about a nickel as robust pricing in the Northeast, Gulf Coast, Midcontinent and Midwest was able to overcome a flat California and soft Rockies pricing environment.

May natural gas is set to open a penny higher Wednesday morning at $1.99 as overnight trading pushed toward a technical breakout and forecasters called for cooling, albeit moderate, next week. Overnight oil markets improved.

Prices for natural gas for delivery Thursday staged a broad advance in Wednesday’s trading, and even a weak Northeast with points averaging about a dime loss couldn’t contain the market advance.