ARTICLE
Gas: Although volatility has begun to pick up over the past two weeks, the July, August, September, & October front month NYMEX contracts largely traded in a $0.50 range. While the October NYMEX is close to final settlement, the July – September NYMEX settlements all fell in the $2.96-$3.07 range. Contributing to the market “lull” has been conflicting demand factors. An uptick in liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports both overseas & to Mexico has created an overall supply deficit relative to the past few years. However, a much milder summer relative to 2016 throughout the midcontinent & East Coast has kept natural gas-fired electricity levels subdued (which has not lengthened the supply deficit as many experts predicted coming into the summer). Forecasts for the upcoming winter are mostly split (no surprise), but the consensus is that we aren’t likely to see severely cold temperatures linger over the coming months. If you would like to have CES review your electric and gas bills to see if the Chamber program can assist you with energy savings, please contact Palmer Energy at 419-491-1006.