NGI Mexico GPI

Natural gas futures continued to pull back Wednesday as liquefied natural gas demand (LNG) took another hit. With government storage data expected to produce a second consecutive triple-digit injection, the June Nymex gas futures contract settled 10.4 cents lower at $1.616. July fell 10.9 cents to $1.856.

Despite every effort of the government to back state oil company Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), Mexico’s liquids production is set to drop marginally this year, by 7,000 b/d, to average 1.85 million b/d in 2020, according to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Mexican authorities on Wednesday announced a gradual plan towards reopening the economy starting next week.

Aggressive selling in the last half hour of trading accelerated early losses for natural gas futures on Tuesday, with the June Nymex contract settling 10.6 cents lower day/day at $1.720/MMBtu. July dropped an even sharper 12.0 cents to $1.965.

Natural gas futures snapped a three-day losing streak, edging up Monday as weather models hinted at what could be a warmer-than-normal summer. However, with a looming storage “tsunami,” the June Nymex gas futures contract settled only three-tenths of a cent higher than Friday’s close at $1.826. July climbed .008 cents to $2.085.

Despite acknowledging the existential threats posed to its business by an immense debt load, staggering losses and a collapse in oil demand from Covid-19, Mexico’s state oil company Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) does not plan to farm out stakes in its exploration and production (E&P) acreage anytime soon, according to the firm’s 20-F annual report.

Natural gas futures capped the first week of May with a third straight day of losses as near-term demand weakness trumped a sustained drop in production. The June Nymex gas futures contract settled Friday on the lower end of its trading range, off 7.1 cents day/day at $1.823. July fell 5.0 cents to $2.077.

Mexico and the United States have the opportunity to deepen their commercial relationship as a result of the changing world order due to the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Christopher Landau said Friday during a web event hosted by The Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute and the Mexican Council on Foreign Relations.

After some back and forth, bears prevailed in the battle for control of natural gas futures on Thursday as the first in an expected string of triple-digit storage injections was reported by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The June natural gas neared the $2.00/MMBtu mark early, but then eventually settled 5.0 cents lower day/day at $1.894. July slipped 4.4 cents to $2.127.