Updated Aug 30, 2024
8/30/24
Natural gas futures mustered momentum on Tuesday – after losing ground the day before and last week – amid lighter production readings, bargain buying and short covering.
Natural gas futures fell for a second day on Thursday after a lighter-than-forecast storage build appeared to not be enough to divert storage levels off their lofty trajectory into the fall.
Natural gas forward basis prices slumped during the July 25-31 trading period, weighed down by a cooling August forecast, robust production and stubbornly high storage inventories. September basis dropped by an average 7.5 cents through the period, with the western United States leading the declines, according to NGI’s Forward Look.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Thursday reported an injection of 18 Bcf natural gas into storage for the week ended July 26. The result, below expectations, kicked off a tug-of-war between natural gas futures bulls and bears.
Weekly natural gas cash prices retreated amid seasonally mild temperatures in key sections of the Lower 48 and strong national production.
Spooked by blistering heat, natural gas traders sent August baseload prices higher for several locations on the first day of bidweek trading, NGI’s Bidweek Alert (BWA) showed.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Thursday reported an injection of 22 Bcf natural gas into storage for the week ended July 19. The result exceeded market expectations and kept pressure on Nymex natural gas futures.
Natural gas futures hovered close to even early Thursday as the market prepared for the release of a government inventory report expected to show another weak injection of supply into underground storage.
Natural gas futures faltered a second day after a major producer expressed concern about elevated supplies, adding to market worries about hefty storage levels and overshadowing forecasts for strong cooling demand in the weeks ahead.
EQT Corp., the largest natural gas producer in the United States, will continue to curtail Appalachian volumes through the second half of the year in light of surplus storage levels, executives said Wednesday.