Natural Gas Prices

Physical natural gas for Tuesday delivery bounded higher Monday as a firming power and weather environment lifted quotes at nearly all points.

Buyers for weekend and Monday gas on Friday lost no time submitting their bids as temperatures in eastern markets were expected to reach above 80 degrees by Monday and on-peak power posted double-digit gains. But, as some traders focused on the heat, reports were coming in of increased price-related production shut-ins clouding the horizon.

Natural gas futures jumped after the release of government inventory figures showing an increase in working gas storage that was less than expectations.

ExxonMobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell plc reported sharply lower earnings in the first quarter, with the decline in oil prices removing billions from both of the oil majors' bottom lines. However, their integrated business models helped them blow past Wall Street consensus.

When commodity prices are low and volatile, there are still money-making opportunities in the midstream sector; they're just different, Enterprise Products Partners COO Jim Teague said Thursday.

Most physical traders on Thursday made a point of getting their deals done prior to the release of weekly natural gas storage data from the Energy Information Administration. Overall, the market for Friday gas gained a penny to $2.36.

There was a noticeable lack of bullishness, just straight talk on the prospects for natural gas in transportation by a panel of experts at last week's IHS CERAWeek in Houston.

The first quarter of her tenure at FERC was a busy one highlighted by a few big issues, according to Commissioner Colette Honorable, who heard "loud and clear" from the natural gas industry on the most controversial of those issues — a proposal to move the 9 a.m. Central Clock Time (CCT) start of the gas day to 4 a.m. CCT.

With slumping oil and stagnant natural gas prices, the market for merger and acquisition (M&A) activity among exploration and production companies would appear to be a good bet. However, many of the biggest companies with the deepest pockets are remaining on the sidelines.