NGI Data

Physical gas for Tuesday delivery fell sharply at many points in Monday’s trading. Particularly hard hit were locations in the Northeast, as moderating weather was seen sending Tuesday temperatures to above normal readings. Locations in and around New York and Philadelphia were softer as well, but Marcelllus points advanced. California points were steady to higher. At the close of futures trading April had advanced 3.3 cents to $4.651 and May was up 0.9 cent to $4.576. April crude oil slumped $1.46 to $101.12/bbl.

Natural gas for weekend and Monday delivery was highly varied in Friday’s trading. A major interstate pipeline declared a force majeure, and although earlier polar vortices do not seem to be in play, many traders were not desirous of being short gas going into the weekend with cold weather clearly an added risk.

It was another wild and wacky week of spot gas trading across the country. There were wide variations in both price changes and absolute price levels and the Midwest and Midcontinent were the Kings Of The Hill.

Spot natural gas prices for Thursday delivery continued their downward migration in Wednesday’s trading as gas purchased during bidweek continued to become available for balance of the month. Only a handful of locations made it to the positive side of the trading ledger, and the average decline nationally was seen at close to $2.

Physical gas for Wednesday delivery plunged in Tuesday’s trading despite continued brutal cold across the Midwest as far east as the Mid-Atlantic.

March Bidweek prices were all over the map, with multi-dollar gains posted in the Midwest and multi-dollar losses seen in the Northeast. TheNGI March Bidweek national average was $5.84, down 74 cents from February, but tell that to buyers on the AlgonquinCitygates, who paid the month’s highest index at $15.52, down $19.98, or on Tennessee Zone 6 200 L where the March Index was $14.63, down $11.93. Lowest bidweek prices were seen on Transco Leidy, which was $1.91, down $1.43 from February, and Tennessee Zone 4 Marcellus, which was $1.93, down $1.47.

Physical natural gas for Tuesday delivery moved abruptly higher in Monday’s trading. A storm ripping across the Mid-Atlantic sent prices in some areas to double-digit dollar gains, but quotes all along the Eastern Seaboard were mostly solidly in the black.

Spot prices for gas for delivery for the weekend and Monday vaulted higher Friday, led by gains in the Midwest and Great Lakes. Buyers were scrambling for supplies as weather-driven prices on pipelines serving the frozen tundra of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan posted double-digit dollar gains.

It was a week of gut-wrenching price changes for both futures and physical natural gas traders. The March futures contract expired Wednesday at a “reasonable” $4.855, but just two days prior, it had traded as high as $6.493 before falling into a tailspin and losing 69.0 cents on the day and finishing at $5.445 Monday. Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s trading added cumulative losses of another 59.0 cents — a 21% drop over three days — and any March futures bulls left standing limped off into the cold and snow to shore up margin accounts.