Natural gas future price (short term delivery) declined during the first part of the week only to changed course and sharply rose by the end of it. By the end of the week the Henry Hub future (short term delivery) increased again by 4.41%. Based on the recent EIA natural gas storage update, the natural gas storage changed direction and rose, much like the average five years did during the same time frame: The NG storage injection was 31 Bcf. In comparison, during the same week last year the injection was 25 Bcf; this injection in the storage may have been lower than many had anticipated, which may have led to the short squeeze by the end of the week,
Here is a short analysis of the latest changes in natural gas market for the week ending on April 19th 2013:
Natural Gas Market – April Report
The Nymex Henry Hub Future (short term delivery) rose again during last week by 4.41% and by Friday reached $4.41/mmbtu; its average daily change was 0.89%; its weekly average price was 3.77% above last week’s average price.
The gap between the NG future and spot prices – future minus spot – zigzagged between backwardation and Contango during last week.
Natural Gas Charts
The following charts present the developments in Nat Gas future (Nymex Henry Hub) in $/mmbtu between April 15-19.
As seen in the chart herein, the NG prices (Henry Hub future and spot) rallied by the end of the week after they had decreased during the beginning of the week.
In the second chart are the daily percent changes of the Henry Hub spot and Nymex Henry Hub future (short term delivery). The chart presents the price changes of natural gas during last week.
NG Storage Update – EIA Report:
Natural Gas Storage
The underground natural gas storage (Billion Cubic Feet) changed direction and rose during the previous week by 1.85% or by 31 Bcf; the storage reached 1,704 billion cubic feet for all lower 48 states; the current storage is 4.2% below the 5-year average and 31.8% below the storage during the same week in 2012. During the same week in April 2012 the natural gas injection was 25 Bcf, and the five year average injection from storage for the parallel week of April was 39 Bcf. This week’s injection was mostly driven from Eastern consumption region with a 19 Bcf injection.
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