Thursday, February 23
rd saw the front-month NYMEX Natural Gas Futures Contract open at $2.203, three cents above Wednesday’s closing price of $2.174. Ascending to the $2.280 level leading up to the weekly storage report, prices trended lower following the publication’s release. Tallying the intraday low of $2.200 ahead of midday, the contract mounted a recovery effort into the afternoon as technical trading provided support ahead of the contract’s expiration. Applying additional support is the Freeport LNG returning to full capacity and the threat of frigid temps in the near-term. March closed higher on Thursday at $2.314.
The more actively traded April contract closed thirteen cents higher at $2.432.
The EIA Natural Gas Storage Report published on Thursday showed a 71 BCF withdrawal from storage for the week ended February 17 – in line with the market estimate of 68 BCF. Total working gas in storage was reported as 2,195 BCF; 21.9% above this time last year and 15.2% above the five-year average.
As of 7:50AM EST this morning in Globex, WTI Crude was up 67 cents; Natural Gas was up seven cents; Heating Oil was up three cents; and Gasoline was up slightly.
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