Northeast natural gas prices continue to slide alongside heating demand

摘要

Cash natural gas prices in the Northeast fell Wednesday, as residential and commercial demand began to decline following warmer temperatures in the region. Algonquin Gas Transmission city-gates fell 67 cents to settle at $2.09/MMBtu, while TETCO M3 slid 30 cents to settle at $1.81/MMBtu for next-day flows. Total Northeast demand was forecast by S&P Global Platts Analytics to slide Wednesday and drop an additional 3 Bcf to 28.3 Bcf Thursday, with the bulk of the decrease coming from residential and commercial sector. Temperatures in the Northeast are forecast to increase gradually on the day in the coming sessions, eventually sitting 8 degrees Fahrenheit above average by January, according to Platts Analytics. Even with the cold snap across the holiday weekend and into the middle of this week, this is the warmest winter season the Northeast has seen in a decade, which is expected to add to the pressure on prices in the region. Due to such warm temperatures, less supply has been needed, with the two largest fields in the East region storage sample –- Dominion Energy and Columbia Gas –- reporting historically low withdrawals Tuesday for the week ended January 17.