Friday, March 7th saw the front-month NYMEX Natural Gas Futures Contract open at $4.178, down $0.124 compared to Thursday’s closing price of $4.302. Recording the intraday low of $4.132 within minutes of the opening bell, prices fell overnight as traders focused on imminent shoulder-season conditions and the previous day’s bearish storage pull. Reclaiming lost ground throughout the session, the contract rose to an intraday high of $4.426 at 2:20PM. April closed higher on Friday at $4.399.
The EIA Natural Gas Storage Report published last Thursday posted an 80 BCF withdrawal from storage for the week ended February 28 – below the market estimate of a 97 BCF withdrawal. Total working gas in storage was reported as 1,760 BCF; 24.9% below this time last year and 11.3% below the five-year average.
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