LONDON (Commodity Online): Natural Gas prices moved sideways during the intraday trading session and finished roughly unchanged on the day.
The prompt contract closed again at $3.13/MMBtu. Calendar 2012 also ended the day at the same level as the day before at $3.39. Calendar 2013 inched up a penny, to $4.02.
The weather forecast ahead of the weekend turned incrementally warmer again, with little hope for seasonal heating demand to come out of its anemic state. On the supply side, gas-directed rig count continues to bleed rigs and was down by two on the week, to 818.
Although the fast-falling rig count has struck some alarm bells recently, our sense is that it is still not at a level where production would start falling. With that said, we will continue to monitor it closely, along with producer activities.
Cash prices mostly fell across the board, with many trading hubs dropping below the $3.00 level. Henry Hub came off by four cents, to $3.00.
Socal Border tumbled and finished at $3.40, down nine cents. Transco-Z6 (NY) pushed up by 17 cents, to $3.55.
