NGI Data

Even as Covid-19 continues to shatter demand across the Lower 48, weather reclaimed its dominance on natural gas futures Friday as persistently colder forecasts pushed up prices to end the week. After trading a few pennies higher for most the day, a late-session bid sent the May Nymex contract up 6.9 cents to settle at $1.621. June climbed 6.6 cents to $1.738.

Even as Covid-19 continues to shatter demand across the Lower 48, weather reclaimed its dominance on natural gas futures Friday as persistently colder forecasts pushed up prices to end the week. After trading a few pennies higher for most the day, a late-session bid sent the May Nymex contract up 6.9 cents to settle at $1.621. June climbed 6.6 cents to $1.738.

Amid upheaval in the oil patch and uncertainty over the demand impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, natural gas futures managed to hold relatively steady in Friday’s trading. The April Nymex contract rolled off the board at $1.634/MMBtu, off 0.3 cents day/day. The May contract slid 1.8 cents to $1.671.

With seasonal factors and underlying fundamentals already keeping a lid on the natural gas spot market, the addition of coronavirus demand destruction gave prices nowhere to go but down during the trading week ending March 27;NGI’s Weekly Spot GasNational Avg.shed 15.0 cents to $1.405/MMBtu.

Mirroring gains in equities as markets looked to lawmakers for economic relief in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, natural gas futures rallied Tuesday. The April Nymex contract settled at $1.653/MMBtu, up 5.1 cents on the day.

The volatility in the broader economy continued to make its presence felt in the natural gas futures market Friday, with prices ultimately sliding amid uncertainty over the full impact of the coronavirus. After trading as high as $1.700/MMBtu and as low as $1.574, the April Nymex contract went on to settle at $1.604, down 5.0 cents on the day.

As natural gas futures traders continued weighing coronavirus demand destruction against future production cuts, the bearish side of the argument won out Tuesday, at least for the near term. The April Nymex contract tumbled 8.6 cents to settle at $1.729/MMBtu.

Capping off a wild week of trading for both energy markets and beyond, natural gas futures inched higher Friday, boosted by a more supportive weather outlook and the prospect of future production cuts. The April Nymex contract picked up 2.8 cents to settle at $1.869/MMBtu after trading as high as $1.951 and as low as $1.795.

The upheaval in oil markets provided natural gas bulls with a new lease on life during the trading week ended March 13, as the promise of future production cuts helped to rally both cash and futures; NGI’s Weekly Spot Gas National Avg. climbed 12.0 cents to $1.635/MMBtu.