US spot gas prices fall back to pre-storm levels as supply and demand rebalance
US spot gas prices have plummeted to pre-winter storm levels over the last two weeks, as demand returns to seasonal norms and production bounces back after freeze-offs.
After spiking during the cold weather event in the third week of February, spot gas prices in the US West have fallen below $4/MMBtu across the board. Stronger supply from both production and inflows have kept a lid on spot prices, especially in the Permian.
In the Southwest, Waha Hub has settled in a range of $2.38-$2.645/MMBtu for Feb. 22 – March 3, after spiking to over $200/MMBtu on Feb. 16. Permian Basin gas production has averaged around 11.6 Bcf/d for the last two weeks, up from the 9 Bcf/d averaged during the cold weather event (Feb. 14-19), according to S&P Global Platts Analytics data. Inflows from the Rockies into the Southwest have increased in addition to the stronger production, averaging 2.2 Bcf/d for the last two weeks, up around 500 MMcf/d from the prior two weeks (Feb. 6-19).