Despite the fact that the first anticipated polar vortex in four years could arrive as soon as next week, natural gas prices fell further on Wednesday as traders tried to fix a market that had risen nearly 30% over the previous five sessions. The Henry Hub on the New York Mercantile Exchange saw a decline of 42.2 cents, or 6.1%, to trade at $6.51 per metric million for natural gas for January delivery.
Profit-taking and a correction were brought on by the benchmark gas contract’s rise from a two-week low of $5.34 on December 6 to a six-week high of $7.10 on December 13.
The NYMEX front-month gas futures are falling this morning, with prices fluctuating in the $6.50s/mmBtu range, according to a note on natural gas from Houston-based energy consultancy Gelber & Associates. “With only a little over a week until a massive Polar vortex plunges into the U.S. and blankets most of the country with bitter cold, ice, and snow,” the note stated.
Gelber said that January gasoline increased 34.8 cents to end the trading day on Tuesday at $6.935. Despite the large gain, it was evident that there was pressure to keep prices below $7.11/mmBtu, and it continued. The upcoming Arctic winter blast is expected to be the coldest December since 2010, according to traders, who noted that Wednesday’s market turnaround was noteworthy.
