Updated Aug 22, 2024
8/22/24
Natural gas futures were treading lightly early on Tuesday, with traders assessing recent bullish supply/demand signs that ignited an August rally against the unknowns of another potential hurricane lurking in the Atlantic and stubbornly high storage levels.
Natural gas futures sputtered early on Monday as a powerful storm barreled into the Southeast, cooler northern weather arrived, and supplies in storage held at stout levels.
In the workweek ahead of the Fourth of July, natural gas cash prices dropped amid strong production and easing demand because of a cooldown in the country’s midsection and business closures for the holiday.
Natural gas forward prices maintained a bullish hue in parts of the West as intensifying heat propelled demand expectations, but robust national supply and mixed weather outlooks fostered bearish sentiment elsewhere. Prices broadly retreated.
August natural gas futures were on track for their seventh straight loss through midday trading Wednesday after the latest in-line weekly storage injection was accompanied by a bearish revision to the previous week.
Potentially demand-sapping events ahead of the Fourth of July holiday weekend kept pressure on August Nymex natural gas futures Monday as inventories stuck in the craw of a market looking for solid demand to vanquish a hefty surplus.
July Nymex natural gas futures were lower early Monday as rising production and falling LNG feed gas demand outweighed the impact of extremely hot weather.
Natural gas futures struggled to find direction on Friday, trading in a narrow range of gains and losses throughout the session. Favorable near-term weather forecasts and continued light production estimates were countered by export weakness and only modest improvement in supply/demand balances evidenced in the latest government inventory data.
North American natural gas prices saw strong forward momentum this week as winter weather appeared around the corner.
Natural gas futures rallied on Wednesday, extending a week-to-date win streak amid advancing cold in the North, strengthening spot prices and solid LNG demand.