NGI Weekly Gas Price Index

In what might be a sign of things to come, natural gas futures moved higher, in spite of weekly physical natural gas prices continuing lower. The NGI Weekly Spot Gas Average fell 11 cents to $1.60, but January futures jumped over 25 cents.

Although longer term weather forecasts continue to moderate, weekly natural gas traders were spared the 20-plus-cent drubbing seen in the futures arena for the week ended Dec. 11. For the week ended Dec. 18 the NGI Weekly Spot Gas Average fell a less bruising 11 cents to $1.71 as a Pacific winter storm did manage to impact the Rockies and the country’s midsection and minimize the price declines experienced elsewhere.

Physical market longs were wondering when the seemingly never-ending spiral of lower prices might at least stabilize when trading ended Friday Dec. 11. Prices fell hard and fell often and no market point traded in positive territory as the lack of anything resembling winter weather for much of the country continued to stifle demand.. At the end of the week the NGI Weekly Spot Gas Average had imploded 25 cents to $1.82.

While most natural gas market points for the week ended Dec. 4 managed to show gains, a relatively small number in the Rockies, Northeast,andCalifornia registered losses and pulled the national average barely into the loss column. The NGI Weekly Spot GasAverageshed 2 cents to $2.07.

Stout gains in the Rockies and Northeast were enough to pull weekly natural gas prices for the abbreviated three-day holiday trading week ended Nov. 25 into the black. Most points traded within a nickel of unchanged, and the NGI Weekly Spot Gas Average added 2 cents to $2.09.

A strong winter storm system that began in the West, marched eastward early in the week, made it into the Midwest by Friday and was expected to impact the East Coast by Sunday was enough to give the physical natural gas market a boost for the week ended Nov. 20.

Unlike last week when physical natural gas prices careened lower as prospects for any meaningful cold looked dim, this week the likelihood of significant winter cold is still distant, but prices managed to make it to the win column to the tune of a few pennies.

Natural gas prices for the first week of the traditional heating season made something of a curious entrance. All but two market points followed by NGI posted losses of about a nickel to a dime outside the Northeast. For the week ended Nov. 6 the NGI Weekly Spot Gas Average plummeted21 cents to $1.95, and whereas for the previous week all regions posted a $2 handle, this week all regions except California and the Midwest posted a $1 handle.

It was all trick for natural gas sellers and treat for gas buyers for the week ending Oct. 30. Trading was downright spooky with only a handful of market points posting gains and double digit losses being the norm.