NGI Data

Natural gas futures tumbled Friday as markets absorbed forecasts for cooler weather, concerns about bloated inventories and declining liquefied natural gas (LNG) volumes. The July Nymex contract settled at $1.731/MMBtu, down 8.2 cents day/day. August fell 8.5 cents to $1.815.

The year started as 2019 had ended for leading natural gas marketers, with 1Q2020 continuing the sales declines that have hampered the industry for four consecutive quarters, according to NGI’s Top North American Natural Gas Marketers rankings.

Natural gas futures dipped into the red early Tuesday and remained there on demand concerns tied to mixed weather forecasts and diminished natural gas exports. The July Nymex contract settled at $1.767/MMBtu, down 2.2 cents day/day. August was down 2.9 cents to $1.863.

Natural gas futures were slightly lower but still range bound to finish the week as the July Nymex contract swung in a less than 10-cent band before settling Friday at $1.782, off 4.0 cents day/day. August was down 3.1 cents to $1.886.

Hotter weather couldn’t prevent an ultimate fall in spot gas prices for the June 1-5 period, with markets across the Lower 48 falling week/week. Losses were fairly small, however, andNGI’s Weekly Spot GasNational Avg.was down only 5.0 cents to $1.610.

A mild start to the summer, combined with demand that continues to struggle amid the coronavirus pandemic, weighed down June natural gas bidweek prices. Although pockets of heat boosted prices in California, small losses were seen in most markets across the Lower 48, sending NGI’s June Bidweek National Avg. down 8.5 cents to $1.545/MMBtu.

Natural gas futures strengthened Tuesday, with demand continuing to increase as economies reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic and as weather models boosted heat in the coming weeks. The June Nymex gas futures contract climbed 6.2 cents to settle at $1.793. July picked up 6.4 cents to $1.945.

Natural gas futures traded both sides of even on Friday as the market steadied a bit while continuing to weigh steep production cuts, seasonal weather and hefty liquefied natural gas (LNG) demand losses. The June Nymex gas futures contract ultimately closed the week at $1.731/MMBtu, up 2.1 cents from Thursday’s close. July picked up 2.9 cents to reach $1.881.

A popular mantra in the world of energy is that there’s no better cure for low prices than low prices, and that slogan rang true for the May 18-22 period as cheap natural gas incentivized power burns across the Lower 48, driving up weekly spot gas prices. Despite a generally mild weather pattern over most areas,NGI’s Weekly Spot GasNational Avg.jumped 9.5 cents to $1.615.