Daily Market Update September 22, 2017
Early Morning Update
The Oct17 natural gas contract is flat at $2.95. Nov17 crude is down $0.18 at $50.37.
Summary
The NG market saw a sharp sell-off yesterday for the front 12 months as the EIA reported a larger-than-expected build into storage of 97 Bcf. That build has caused a small upward revision in end-of-season storage figures, now at 3.83 Tcf. We’re still expecting a deficit to the 5-year average but that deficit has been shrinking as demand has been low and production continues to increase. The latest production data shows the daily rate at 74.6 Bcf, a new all-time high.
We are seeing a bit of late summer heat in the eastern half of the country. This is causing some higher real-time pricing, notable in Ohio where the on-peak RT average was near $200. ComEd pricing cleared $134 and eastern PJM was near $100. In some cases, these were the highest RT prices all year, caused by a combination of high heat and generator outages due to maintenance. Looking ahead, we’re expecting high heat through early next week so the potential for elevated prices will remain for a few more days.
Market Settles 092117