Articles tagged summer demand

Natural gas futures pushed higher Thursday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a rare summer withdrawal of 6 Bcf from storage for the week ended Aug. 9.

Natural gas power burns rose to record levels in July and have so far accelerated those gains in early August, defying some forecasts that growth would flatten in the second half of the year.

Click here to listen to the latest episode of NGI’s Hub and Flow, in which the senior markets editors discuss the factors at play behind weaker natural gas prices this summer and the possible scenarios for supply and demand into the winter and beyond.

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.

Natural gas prices mostly lost ground in August bidweek trading as rising production volumes and stout supplies in storage undercut the impact of forecasts for a sweltering end to the summer.

As weather forecasts trimmed more demand from the mid-August outlook, natural gas futures continued to move lower through midday trading Wednesday.

Natural gas markets were trading sharply lower through midday trading Wednesday amid signs of capitulation by bulls. Physical prices, meanwhile, were lower for the eastern half of the country ahead of a stretch of cooler weather.

Ahead of what is expected to be a bullish inventory report, August natural gas futures were seesawing on early Thursday on either side of the prior day settlement.

The July natural gas futures contract finished its front-month run with a whimper on Wednesday. Bullish weather forecasts were countered by solid production and uncertainty about LNG export volumes ahead of the next government inventory print.

Baseload natural gas prices advanced during the first day of July bidweek trading on Monday, supported by intense heat taking grip across the Lower 48, with forecasts pointing to more of the same in July.