Articles tagged September

Bears maintained control in the week’s closing session as natural gas futures fell deeper amid growing concerns that mild weather would ease demand and limit the ability to wear away a hefty storage surplus.

The natural gas market has tossed on a light sweater and officially turned the page on summer, sending prices lower across the forward curve, according to NGI’s Forward Look.

Natural gas futures were higher on Monday after the weekend models showed hot weather returning to the Lower 48 following the Labor Day holiday. After soaring to a $2.695 intraday high, the September Nymex gas futures contract settled at $2.579/MMBtu, up 3.9 cents from Friday’s settlement. October futures edged up only eight-tenths of a cent to $2.665.

Natural gas futures were higher at the top of the week as searing heat blanketed much of the Lower 48, challenging record power loads and stressing grids. The September Nymex gas futures contract settled Monday at $2.632/MMBtu, up 8.1 cents from Friday’s settlement. October futures climbed 5.2 cents to $2.743.

Trading action along the Nymex natural gas futures curve was like watching paint dry on Monday, with the prompt month swinging in a tight range given no major changes to fundamentals. The September Nymex gas futures contract settled at $2.795/MMBtu, up 2.5 cents from Friday’s close. October futures tacked on 1.6 cents to $2.898. 

Natural gas futures have fluctuated on either side of $2.700 for months now, but another decline on Wednesday moved the goalposts a bit further out of reach. The September Nymex contract fell 8.3 cents to settle at $2.477/MMBtu.

With the latest forecasts mixed and with analysts monitoring a number of “moving pieces” in the fundamentals outlook, natural gas futures prices were steady early Wednesday. The September Nymex futures contract was trading 0.1 cents lower at $2.217/MMBtu shortly after 8:30 a.m. ET.

September natural gas opened Tuesday about 0.9 cents lower at around $2.867/MMBtu as forecasts overnight continued to show what could be the last real heat of summer waning by the end of next week. The October contract was set to open 1.2 cents lower at around $2.857.

September natural gas futures were set to open Tuesday about 3.6 cents higher at around $2.977/MMBtu as overnight guidance continued to advertise hotter trends, potentially complicating efforts to shrink large inventory deficits.

September natural gas futures were set to open Friday about 2.5 cents higher at around $2.933/MMBtu, bouncing back from the prior session’s storage-driven declines as forecasters noted overnight gains in projected cooling demand.