Search for bottom continuing for natural gas futures Wednesday as prices down sharply through morning and lunchtime trading
March Nymex contract off 8.0 cents to $1.609/MMBtu as of 2:28 p.m. ET; $1.61 seen as “strong technical support,” according to EBW Analytics Group’s Eli Rubin
Nymex front month trading at roughly 10-cent premium to day-ahead Henry Hub price of $1.510, according to NGI’s Midday Price Alert
Market searching for signs of a production response as major natural gas operators report earnings
Including hedges, EQT Corp. estimating Nymex Henry Hub free cash flow breakeven of around $2.20/MMBtu in 2024, per 4Q2023 results
Gelber & Associates: “Given EQT’s status as the largest natural gas producer in the Lower 48, that breakeven price could serve broadly as a good baseline for understanding at what point producers are incentivized to moderate output, especially those outside the Permian”
Haynesville Shale pure-play Comstock Resources Inc. dropping from seven to five rigs in response to weak prices, reports NGI’s Andrew Baker
Haynesville rig count down three for week ended Feb. 9, Marcellus and Utica shales down a combined five rigs: Enverus
Spot prices mostly lower, per Midday Price Alert, with National Avg. off 24.0 cents to $1.655; Northeast Regional Avg. plummets $1.560 to $2.600
Following Nor’easter impacting Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, National Weather Service expecting “much more tranquil weather” for these areas the next few days
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.
In its debut run at the front of the Nymex natural gas futures curve, the October contract mustered momentum after a government inventory report met expectations and proved bullish relative to historical norms.
In its final run as the prompt month, the September natural gas futures contract opened lower, with steady production and approaching fall weather trumping expectations for a favorable government inventory print.
With supply appearing more than ample to meet demand through the waning days of summer, natural gas futures gave up more ground through midday trading Tuesday. Natural gas spot prices also fell.
Natural gas futures nosedived Thursday after the market received bearish government inventory data and looming autumn weather presented the likelihood of fading cooling demand. Spot prices fell in tandem.
Natural gas futures seesawed in a narrow range of gains and losses for a second straight session on Wednesday. The prompt month hovered in the red by early afternoon trading as market participants weighed expectations for strong late-August cooling needs and bullish supply trends against expectations for retreating demand in the fall.
