EIA Slashes Henry Hub Estimate to Avg $2.80 This Winter – Dec. STEO

Once a month, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) analysts issue the agency’s Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), their best guess about where energy prices and production will go in the next 12 months. Last month, the report predicted the price for Henry Hub natural gas futures would average $3.40 this winter (see EIA Predicts Henry Hub…

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NYMEX Henry Hub Price Crashes with Warm Weather Forecast

The commodity price for natural gas, as expressed by the NYMEX Henry Hub futures contract (for January), fell 10.5% in early trading yesterday before finally closing at $2.43/MMBtu, down 15 cents (6.17%) from the previous day. Why the big drop when prices are already low? Lack of demand due to warm weather. In fact, according…

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NYMEX Futures Price Drops, Spot Prices Pop, Both Due to Weather

An interesting dichotomy we sometimes (but don’t often) see: The NYMEX Henry Hub futures price is down (below $3/MMBtu) and heading lower, while spot prices (physical trading) of natural gas at various trading hubs around the country are going higher, especially in the Northeast. In both cases — the futures price and the spot price…

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EIA Scales Back 2023 NatGas Production Estimate, Still Record-High

Once a month, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) analysts issue the agency’s Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), their best guess about where energy prices and production will go in the next 12 months. Last month, the report predicted new all-time highs for natural gas production in 2023 (see EIA Boosts Prediction for Record-High NatGas Prod. 2023…

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5 Trends Poised to Have Biggest Impact on Energy Sector in 2024

Veteran equity oil and gas analyst Jeff Robertson, managing director with Water Tower Research (WTR), recently compiled an outlook report with the 5 trends he says are poised to have the biggest impact on the energy sector next year. WTR was kind enough to share it with MDN. One of Robertson’s predictions involves a Henry…

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“Micro” Henry Hub Futures & Options Grabs 50K Contracts in 3 Days

CME Group, which operates the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), announced in September that it would launch Micro Henry Hub futures and options beginning November 6 (see CME Group Launching “Micro” Henry Hub Futures & Options Nov. 6). The launch happened, and in under three days, Micro Henry Hub futures surpassed…

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EIA Predicts Henry Hub to Avg $3.40 This Winter – Nov. STEO

Once a month, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) analysts issue the agency’s Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), their best guess about where energy prices and production will go in the next 12 months. Last month, the report predicted new all-time highs for natural gas production in 2023 (see EIA Boosts Prediction for Record-High NatGas Prod. 2023…

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NatGas Price Whacked Again – Drops $0.25 in One Day Due to Weather

Just when we were beginning to feel comfortable that maybe, just maybe, the price of natural gas would stay higher for longer instead of lower for longer, yesterday happened. Did you notice? The price for the “front month contract” of the NYMEX Henry Hub got whacked, falling a full 25 cents in a single day,…

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Cold Weather to the Rescue! M-U Gas Prices Spike, Highest in Months

Have you noticed the nice rise in the price of gas? Yesterday, the NYMEX Henry Hub price rose $0.22 to close at $3.58/MMBtu (up 6.24% in a single day). Cool! Better yet, the spot price of natural gas in the Marcellus/Utica region is on the march, too. According to Argus Media, spot natural gas prices…

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EIA Says Low Price for NatGas Led to Crash in Rig Count 2023

The Baker Hughes rig count has crashed this year compared to last year’s numbers. A few months ago, we began to chronicle the weekly rig count to keep track of this alarming situation (which we post about every Monday). U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) analysts have taken notice of the crashing rig count and asked…

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EIA Boosts Prediction for Record-High NatGas Prod. 2023 – Oct. STEO

Once a month, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) analysts issue the agency’s Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), their best guess about where energy prices and production will go in the next 12 months. Last month, the report predicted new all-time highs for natural gas production in 2023 (see Record High NatGas Production & Demand in 2023…

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Now We’re Cookin’ with Gas! NYMEX Price Soars, Stays Above $3

Finally! We knew it would happen sooner or later. We committed to stop reporting on the price of natural gas unless and until the NYMEX went over $3/MMBtu and stayed there, which happened last week. The front-month NYMEX natural gas contract was close to $3 last Wednesday, closing at $2.99. On Thursday, the price closed…

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M-U Production Slides as Regional Cash Prices Sink Below $1/MMBtu

In September, production from the Marcellus and Utica shales averaged just under 35.1 Bcf/d — down from a nearly two-year high at 35.3 Bcf/d in August, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights. Over the past three years, producers in the Marcellus/Utica have dialed back output in September. Why? Cooling temperatures that lead to…

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Major U.S. Shale Drillers Hedged 2H23 Gas Production Avg. $3.35

According to an analysis by S&P Global Commodity Insights, large U.S. shale gas drillers (namely Marcellus/Utica drillers) have hedged (pre-sold at a specific price) an average of 50% of anticipated shale gas production for the second half of 2023. The average price of the hedges is $3.35/Mcf, far above the average NYMEX Henry Hub price…

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CME Group Launching “Micro” Henry Hub Futures & Options Nov. 6

For traders who buy and sell NYMEX Henry Hub futures (and there is a fair number who read MDN), listen up! CME Group, which operates the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), announced it is launching Micro Henry Hub futures and options beginning November 6. The standard Henry Hub natural gas futures…

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