Northeast basis markets see large declines; NYMEX stumbles on storage

摘要

Financial basis swaps mostly moved downward since the beginning of the year. Large declines were seen in the Northeast and west regions, while the rest of the country saw small price swings. The NYMEX February natural gas futures contract settled at $2.269/MMBtu on January 13, a 7 cent decline month-to-date. On January 14, the Energy Information Administration announced at storage withdrawal of 168 Bcf for the week ending January 8, less than consensus expectations of a withdrawal of between 176 and 180 Bcf. Following the report, the prompt-month contract took a hit, falling about 10 cents to about $2.17/MMBtu in the morning. In the Northeast, Algonquin Gas Transmission city-gates February basis declined $2.45 month-to-date, settling at $3.20/MMBtu on January 13. Algonquin March basis lost $1.04 to plus $2.05/MMBtu over the same time period. Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Zone 6 New York February basis is down $1.07 in January, to settle at plus $2.88/MMBtu on January 13. Further along the curve, Transco March basis dropped 18.8 cents to plus 61 cents/MMBtu.