Daily Market Update December 10, 2020

Early Morning Update

The Jan21 natural gas contract is trading up $0.01 at $2.45. The Jan21 crude oil contract is up $0.63 at $46.15.

Summary

The natural gas market turned less-bearish yesterday, as contracts through December 2023 strengthened slightly. The prompt month contract was the biggest mover of the lot, settling 4.3 cents higher day-over-day at $2.442/MMBtu. Contracts beyond the prompt month through December 2023 moved even less, but at least $0.015/MMBtu. Though small, the cause for the rally was likely multi-pronged, as demand increased unevenly across the U.S. The most notable driver is the near-record demand for feedgas for LNG exports at 11.4 Bcf/d, coupled with the waning Canadian imports into the Northeast, which have fallen over 1.0 Bcf/d to 4.8 Bcf/d today. Today’s potentially bullish storage report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration for the week to December 4 may add more fuel to the rally, as withdrawal estimates range from 79 to 99 Bcf, all greater than the five-year average.

Market Update 12 10 20