Natural gas futures essentially treading water as bearish week of trading draws to close
After starting week around $1.800/MMBtu, March Nymex contract trading at $1.610 as of 2:25 p.m. ET, up 2.9 cents
Gelber & Associates analysts see “relatively little volatility and market participation” ahead of President’s Day weekend, as “traders have likely squared away positions ahead of time to mitigate some price risk”
Per NatGasWeather, gains “attributed to oversold conditions and profit taking ahead of the weekend break”
Weather outlook “still leans bearish” overall “despite a frosty weather system into the U.S. this weekend,” according to NatGasWeather
Cash prices pop along East Coast with brief wintry blast expected; Northeast Regional Avg. up 48.0 cents to $2.395, Southeast Regional Avg. up 17.0 cents to $1.710, per NGI’s Midday Price Alert
Variable forecast for South and East, though “any colder conditions are not long lasting,” Maxar meteorologist Bradley Harvey said Friday via Enelyst
“Below normal temperatures are forecast for these areas this weekend following a clipper system bringing moderate snow” to Midwest then Mid-Atlantic Friday, according to Harvey
Spot prices under pressure out West, heavy selling in Southern California on mild temps; discounts upstream in Rockies, West Texas, per NGI’s Midday Price Alert
El Paso Natural Gas (EPNG) declared force majeure on Line 1903, cutting capacity by 464,000 Dth/d to 50,000 Dth/d through CADIZSOU constraint
Impacted volumes reroutable through EPNG’s DUTCH F constraint, according to Wood Mackenzie’s Kevin Ong
Jeremiah Shelor joined NGI in 2015 after covering business and politics for The Exponent Telegram in Clarksburg, WV. He holds a Master of Fine Arts in Literary Nonfiction from West Virginia University and a Bachelor of Arts in English from Virginia Tech.
October Nymex natural gas futures floated from gains to losses during Tuesday afternoon trading. The market was caught between prospects of significant demand destruction and production shut-ins as Tropical Storm Helene formed over the Caribbean. Cash prices were mixed by varied demand.
October Nymex natural gas futures surged through early afternoon Monday, bolstered by the potential for production disruptions later this week, with another storm brewing in the tropics.
Natural gas futures rocketed through midday trade Friday in a volatile session that saw the contract sink as low as $2.314/MMBtu and rise as high as $2.440. Changes in supply and demand fundamentals drove wide swings.
Bulls took control of the market Thursday afternoon after October Nymex natural gas futures briefly tumbled to an intraday low at $2.223/MMBtu following a reported storage build of 58 Bcf for the week ended Sept. 13.
Another attempt by market bulls to pull October Nymex natural gas futures higher ran into a wall Wednesday afternoon as bears resumed control. The market had a muted response to the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) interest rate cut decision while moving lower on weaker demand.
After rising to the highest level since July, natural gas futures drifted into the negative in afternoon trade on Tuesday as the market searched for fundamental support to hold onto gains.
