Both physical and financial natural gas markets were poised to make healthy gains by midweek, but the weekly Energy Information Administration (EIA) storage report stunted gains in the physical market, and pushed the October futures into the loss column for the week.
It was a tale of two physical markets Wednesday as Thursday gas traded sharply lower at Rockies and California points, but in the Northeast next-day deliveries added about a dime on a firm power market. NGI's National Spot Gas Average fell 13 cents to $2.32 and futures prices weakened as well.
There was plenty of market activity to keep bidweek traders busy as they put October deals to bed, but outside of Appalachia, the Rocky Mountains and California, bidweek quotes showed only nominal declines of a few pennies. The NGI October National Bidweek Average fell 10 cents to $2.54 from September Bidweek, and represents a mere 3-cent premium over the NGI October 2016 National Bidweek Average of $2.51.
June Natural Gas Futures Resiliency Fades; Cash Prices Continue Descent
A three-day rally for natural gas futures petered out on Friday, as traders took profits after export volumes dipped lower, weather-driven demand eased and cash prices slid for a fourth straight day.
The June Nymex contract lost 1.2 cents day/day and settled at $2.961/MMBtu. July fell seven-tenths of a cent to $3.018.
NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. shed 6.5 cents to $2.605.
Both the domestic and European weather models Friday showed “a rather bearish pattern the next two weeks as near-perfect highs of 70s and 80s rule most of the country,” NatGasWeather said, explaining the headwinds bearing down on both cash prices and futures.
June Natural Gas Stumbles as Forecasts Point to Lighter Demand, Cyberattack Unsettles Markets naturalgasintel.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from naturalgasintel.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.