Natural Gas

Today in Energy

Recent Today in Energy analysis of natural gas markets is available on the EIA website.

Market Highlights:

Prices

• Henry Hub spot price: The Henry Hub spot price fell 54 cents from $4.43 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) last Wednesday to $3.89/MMBtu yesterday. The Henry Hub reached an intraweek high on Friday, January 17 of $10.07/MMBtu, its highest price since January 2024.
• Henry Hub futures price: The price of the February 2025 NYMEX contract decreased 12 cents, from $4.083/MMBtu last Wednesday to $3.960/MMBtu yesterday. The price of the 12-month strip averaging February 2025 through January 2026 futures contracts rose 4 cents to $4.011/MMBtu.
• Select regional spot prices: Natural gas spot prices fell at most locations this report week (Wednesday, January 15, to Wednesday, January 22). Price changes ranged from a decrease of 97 cents at PG&E Citygate to an increase of $11.04 at Transco Zone 6 NY.
• Prices increased in the Northeast this report week as cold weather moved into the region. At the Algonquin Citygate, which serves Boston-area consumers, the price rose $4.24 from $14.75/MMBtu last Wednesday to $18.99/MMBtu yesterday. Average temperatures in the Boston Area decreased 3°F from last week to 26°F this report week and reached intraweek lows of 16°F on Tuesday and Wednesday. Natural gas consumption in New England increased 7% (0.3 billion cubic feet per day [Bcf/d]), according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights. At the Transco Zone 6 NY trading point for New York City, the price increased $11.04 from $6.50/MMBtu last Wednesday to $17.54/MMBtu yesterday. Transco Zone 6 NY reached an intraweek high of $97.90/MMBtu on Friday, January 17 in advance of a cold snap that had the potential to reduce production and create pipeline constraints over the holiday weekend. Friday was the third-highest nominal price since February 1998, according to Natural Gas Intelligence. Temperatures in the New York-Central Park Area averaged 26°F this report week, down 6°F from the last report week. Natural gas consumption increased by 10% (0.9 Bcf/d) in the New York and New Jersey area, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights.
• Prices decreased along the West Coast this report week, in line with the Henry Hub. The price at PG&E Citygate in Northern California fell 97 cents from $4.69/MMBtu last Wednesday to $3.72/MMBtu yesterday. The price at SoCal Citygate in Southern California decreased 64 cents from $4.92/MMBtu last Wednesday to $4.28/MMBtu yesterday. At Northwest Sumas on the Canada-Washington border, the main pricing point for natural gas in the Pacific Northwest, the price fell 72 cents from $4.30/MMBtu last Wednesday to $3.58/MMBtu yesterday.
• Prices rose in the Southeast this week. The price at FGT Citygate, which delivers natural gas into Florida, rose $10.18 from $5.26/MMBtu last Wednesday to $15.44/MMBtu yesterday. Temperatures in the Tallahassee Area averaged 46°F, 4°F below normal, and fell to 34°F yesterday, 19°F below normal. On January 22, Gulfstream Natural Gas declared a low linepack condition, and Florida Gas Transmission declared an Outage Alert Day related to colder temperatures forecast in the area.
• Prices decreased in Texas this report week as temperatures recovered from the cold snap. The price at the Houston Ship Channel decreased 91 cents from $4.22/MMBtu last Wednesday to $3.31/MMBtu yesterday after reaching an intraweek high of $8.24/MMBtu on Friday in anticipation of higher demand from colder weather. Prices fell at the end of the report week due to warmer temperature forecasts. Average temperatures in the Houston Area fell 3°F to 43°F, leading to 151 heating degree days (HDDs), 68 more HDDs than normal. Natural gas consumption in Texas rose 8% (1.1 Bcf/d) this report week, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights.

Daily spot prices by region are available on the EIA website.

• International futures prices: International natural gas futures price changes were mixed this report week. According to Bloomberg Finance, L.P., weekly average front-month futures prices for liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes in East Asia decreased 14 cents to a weekly average of $14.01/MMBtu. Natural gas futures for delivery at the Title Transfer Facility (TTF) in the Netherlands increased 57 cents to a weekly average of $14.57/MMBtu. In the same week last year (week ending January 24, 2024), the prices were $9.49/MMBtu in East Asia and $8.92/MMBtu at TTF.
• Natural gas plant liquids (NGPL) prices: The natural gas plant liquids composite price at Mont Belvieu, Texas, rose by 13 cents/MMBtu, averaging $8.51/MMBtu for the week ending January 22. Ethane prices rose 1% week over week, while weekly average natural gas prices at the Houston Ship Channel increased 23%. The ethane premium to natural gas decreased by 316% after the average price of natural gas rose higher than the average price of ethane during the week. The ethylene spot price rose 4% week over week, and the ethylene premium to ethane increased 6%. Propane prices increased 5%, while Brent crude oil prices were relatively unchanged week over week. The propane discount to crude oil narrowed 12% for the week. Normal butane prices fell 2%; both isobutane prices and natural gasoline prices were relatively unchanged.

Supply and Demand

• Supply: According to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights, the average total supply of natural gas fell by 0.3% (0.3 Bcf/d) compared with the previous report week. Dry natural gas production decreased by 1.5% (1.5 Bcf/d) to average 100.9 Bcf/d, and average net imports from Canada increased by 8.2% (0.7 Bcf/d) from last week.
• Demand: Total U.S. consumption of natural gas rose by 7.9% (9.3 Bcf/d) compared with the previous report week, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights. Natural gas consumption in the residential and commercial sector increased by 10.3% (5.6 Bcf/d) as below average temperatures spread across much of the United States. Natural gas consumed for power generation rose by 8.5% (3.1 Bcf/d), and consumption in the industrial sector increased by 1.9% (0.5 Bcf/d) week over week. Natural gas exports to Mexico decreased 1.2% (0.1 Bcf/d). Natural gas deliveries to U.S. LNG export facilities (LNG pipeline receipts) averaged 14.7 Bcf/d, or 0.7 Bcf/d lower than last week.

Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)

• Pipeline receipts: Average natural gas deliveries to U.S. LNG export terminals decreased 0.7 Bcf/d from last week to 14.7 Bcf/d, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights. Natural gas deliveries to terminals in South Louisiana decreased by less than 1.0% (less than 0.1 Bcf/d) to 9.8 Bcf/d, and natural gas deliveries to terminals in South Texas decreased by 9.1% (0.4 Bcf/d) to 4.0 Bcf/d. Natural gas deliveries to terminals outside the Gulf Coast decreased by 27.6% (0.3 Bcf/d) to 0.9 Bcf/d this week.
• Vessels departing U.S. ports: Twenty-two LNG vessels (six from Sabine Pass, four each from Freeport and Corpus Christi, three from Cameron, two each from Calcasieu Pass and Cove Point, and one from Plaquemines) with a combined LNG-carrying capacity of 84 Bcf departed the United States between January 16 and January 22, according to shipping data provided by Bloomberg Finance, L.P. Inclement weather led to temporary closures of major waterways serving LNG export terminals, which may have contributed to lower LNG exports this week compared with last week.

Rig Count

• According to Baker Hughes, for the week ending Tuesday, January 14, the natural gas rig count decreased by 2 rigs from a week ago to 98 rigs. The Arkoma Woodford and Barnett each dropped one rig, the Haynesville dropped two rigs, and two rigs were added among unidentified producing regions. The number of oil-directed rigs decreased by 2 rigs from a week ago to 478 rigs. The Williston dropped four rigs, the Cana Woodford dropped two rigs, and the Mississippian dropped one rig. The Barnett, Eagle Ford, and Granite Wash each added one rig, and two rigs were added among unidentified producing regions. The total rig count, which includes 4 miscellaneous rigs, now stands at 580 rigs, 40 fewer rigs than last year at this time.

Storage

• Net withdrawals from storage totaled 223 Bcf for the week ending January 17, compared with the five-year (2020–24) average net withdrawals of 167 Bcf and last year's net withdrawals of 277 Bcf during the same week. Working natural gas stocks totaled 2,892 Bcf, which is 21 Bcf (1%) more than the five-year average and 57 Bcf (2%) lower than last year at this time.
• According to The Desk survey of natural gas analysts, estimates of the weekly net change to working natural gas stocks ranged from net withdrawals of 230 Bcf to 260 Bcf, with a median estimate of 244 Bcf.
• The average rate of withdrawals from storage is 22% higher than the five-year average so far in the withdrawal season (November through March). If the rate of withdrawals from storage matched the five-year average of 13.8 Bcf/d for the remainder of the withdrawal season, the total inventory would be 1,881 Bcf on March 31, which is 21 Bcf higher than the five-year average of 1,860 Bcf for that time of year.

See also:

• Natural Gas Analysis Reports
• Short-Term Energy Outlook