NGI Weekly Gas Price Index

Natural gas cash and futures traders were seeing a lot of red during the short week as moderate temperatures combined with bearish storage data to produce double-digit losses across the physical market and the financial screen.

Weekly natural gas quotes couldn’t quite hold the $3 threshold reached the previous week as the NGIWeekly National Spot Gas Average dropped a nickel to $2.95.

It was a struggle, but for the week ended May 19, weekly natural gas finally huffed and puffed its way to $3 with individual market points generally trading within a nickel of unchanged. A spring heat wave in New England provided much of the impetus for prices to clear the $3 barrier, and theNGIWeekly Spot Gas Average rose 3 cents to $3.00.

Those on the long side of the natural gas market enjoyed healthy gains in weekly trading as the NGI National Weekly Spot Gas Average tacked on 5 cents to take it to $2.97.

The $3 weekly benchmark came a little closer in weekly gas trading for the week ended May 5. Broad gains across all market zones and producing regions pushed the NGI Weekly Spot Gas Average up 8 cents to $2.92.

The $3 weekly pricing threshold proved a little more elusive as only a handful of points made it to the positive side of the trading ledger and most points outside the Northeast and Appalachia fell anywhere from a nickel to a dime.

It was a relatively quiet week of natural gas trading as most points fluctuated within a few pennies of unchanged. Widespread but modest losses in the Rockies, California and West Texas were offset by firm gains in South and East Texas and the Northeast.

The $3 threshold proved just a little bit much for weekly natural gas prices and theNGIWeekly Spot Gas Average retreated from last week’s $3.03, dropping 14 cents to $2.89 over the shortened 4-day trading week.

There was no question who was on top of weekly natural gas trading for the week ended April 7. Bulls and bears drew to a standoff the week before, but this time around theNGI Weekly National Spot Gas Average put in a solid advance of 18 cents to $3.03.