Markets

April natural gas is set to open 4 cents lower Monday morning at $1.77 as weather outlooks continue to trend less toward less constructive, but risk managers are keeping their eye out for above-average temperatures this summer. Overnight oil markets rose.

Some 229 leaks were found in California’s 12 underground natural gas storage fields in a recent survey, but all but a handful were minor and nearly all of them were repaired by the time the survey results were released recently. Non-utility run Lodi Storage in Northern California was the only one found to be leak free.

Natural gas forward prices for April were down an average of 12 cents between March 18 and March 24 as swelling storage inventories and forecasts for mostly mild weather pressured markets, NGI Forward Look data shows.

Physical natural gas for Tuesday delivery posted solid gains in Monday’s trading, led by a supportive power environment and an improved screen.

April natural gas is expected to open a penny lower Thursday morning at $1.78 as traders juggle a changing weather outlook with indications that storage is filling fast. Overnight oil markets fell.

Natural gas futures inched higher Thursday morning after the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a storage build for the week ending March 18 that was somewhat lower than what traders were expecting.

Physical natural gas values for gas delivery Friday through Monday fell Thursday morning as traders scrambled to get deals done before the late-morning release of storage data by the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

April natural gas is set to open 3 cents higher Wednesday morning at $1.89 as traders begin to focus on a lessening of supply for 2016 although season-ending storage set a record. Overnight oil markets were mixed.

Physical natural gas for Thursday delivery worked higher in trading Wednesday as firm quotes in the Gulf, Texas and Northeast were able to offset a weaker Rockies and flat California. The NGI National Spot Gas Average rose 2 cents to $1.66, and eastern points were able to tack on about 7 cents on average.