Friday, January 28th saw the front-month NYMEX Natural Gas Futures Contract open at $4.768, forty-eight cents above Thursday’s closing price of $4.283. Ascending to an intraday high of $4.876 by 9:25AM and marking an intraday low of $4.607 an hour later, volatility ensued as traders gauged the impact and accuracy of upcoming frigid temperatures, as well as the increased LNG demand. Seeking direction within a 25-cent range for the majority of the day, the contract withdrew to close out the day, finishing higher at $4.639.
The EIA Natural Gas Storage Report published on Thursday showed a 219 BCF withdrawal from storage for the week ended January 21st – above the market estimate of 195 BCF. Total working gas in storage was reported as 2,591 BCF; 10.6% below this time last year and 1.0% below the five-year average.
As of 6:45AM EST this morning in Globex, WTI Crude was up 48 cents; Natural Gas was up 28 cents; Heating Oil was up three cents; and Gasoline was up one cent.
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