Market Looking Past Near

Both regional natural gas forwards and Nymex futures came under selling pressure during the Aug. 17-23 trading period as the market looked beyond recent sweltering summer temperatures, which have only dented a lingering inventory surplus.

Fixed prices at benchmark Henry Hub slid 9.5 cents to $2.494/MMBtu for September delivery, NGI’s Forward Look data show.

Fixed price discounts were more pronounced for western Lower 48 hubs that have been trading at relative premiums to the rest of the country. SoCal Border Avg. sold off 55.4 cents for September delivery to end at $3.777. Malin tumbled 52.1 cents to $3.170.

This coincided with price declines farther upstream in West Texas, where El Paso Permian shed 32.6 cents for the period, finishing at $1.830 for September.

Discounts...