ARTICLE
Electric: Although power prices remain at historically competitive levels, we’re starting to see these pricing movements catch up to the increases we’ve seen in the natural gas market over the past month. This is evident from the uptick in rates currently available on the open market that have been slowly rising since the last week in November. Plenty of upside still exists given the movements we’ve seen occur in past winters, making now the time to consider pricing your electric load while competitive rates out into the future still exist. Gas: The NYMEX for November 2016 settled at $2.76, a 6% decrease from the October settlement of $2.95. Conversely, the NYMEX for December 2016 settled at $3.23, a 17% increase from the November settlement. Seasonally warm temperatures kept market rates suppressed through the first week in November. However, forecasts for this warmth to spread through the end of November didn’t materialize as planned, placing upward pressure on NYMEX futures prior to a welcomed decrease on December 12th. Although frigid winter temperatures are abound through the third week in December along the East Coast and throughout the Midwest, forecasts are expected to shift toward slightly above average norms at the end of the month and heading into the beginning of January. This should tame natural gas price movements in the immediate future, although plenty of volatility still exists the further we head into winter. If you are interested in learning more about Chamber Energy Solutions, please contact the Chamber for more information or call Palmer Energy at 419-539-9180 ext. 106