NGI Data

Spot natural gas for Friday delivery overall moved little, and large setbacks at Northeast and Marcellus points were more than offset by broad gains in the Gulf Coast, Rockies and California. East Texas was also strong.

Physical natural gas for Thursday delivery rose again in screen-directed trading on Wednesday. Nearly all points saw gains from a nickel or more in the Gulf to double-digit advances in the Great Lakes, Marcellus, Mid-Atlantic and Appalachia. There was little weather inspiration, and much of the gains mirrored the gains posted by the expired June futures contract. At the close June had settled at $4.619, up 11.4 cents, while July finished 10.4 cents higher at $4.615. July crude oil tumbled $1.39 to $102.72/bbl.

Physical gas for Wednesday delivery jumped in Tuesday’s trading as Memorial Day warmth was forecast to give way to temperatures more representative of April. From the Marcellus up through New England, hefty double-digit gains were the rule, but nearly all points were solidly in the black.

Gas buyers saw little risk in being caught short of gas Tuesday following the extended Memorial Day weekend and prices fell across the board in Friday’s trading.

Winners were able to maintain a slight numerical advantage over losers, but when the averages were tallied the NGI Weekly Spot Gas Average came in at $4.21, down 6 cents for the week ended May 23. Most points were within a dime of unchanged. Of the actively traded points, Tennessee Zone 4 Marcellus made the greatest gains adding 12 cents to $2.24, but Northeast losses were far greater. Weekly quotes on Iroquois Zone 2 fell 37 cents to $4.22 and were closely followed by a decline of 34 cents to $3.54 at the Algonquin Citygates.

Natural gas futures plunged following the release of government storage figures Thursday morning that were on the high side of what the market was expecting.

Physical gas for Friday delivery retreated broadly in Thursday’s trading. Only a handful of points made gains, and most locations were off a nickel to a dime although some in the Northeast and a few other spots fell by double digits.

Physical gas prices for Thursday delivery staged a modest advance Wednesday, with nearly all points in the black by a few pennies up to a nickel. Those few locations that eased did so on light volume and slipped just a penny or two.

Physical gas for delivery Wednesday moved modestly higher with market moves for the most part confined to advances of less than a nickel. Only a few locations reported declines. The market largely reflected relatively benign conditions of modest temperatures, maintenance, and lack of price-moving cooling load.