Futures for February delivery closed up 25% to US$4.875 per million British thermal units, the highest settlement for the front-month contract since Dec 8. — Bloomberg
NEW YORK: US natural gas futures jumped more than 50% in two days, putting futures on track for their biggest weekly gain in more than three decades, as dangerously cold temperatures are set to take hold of a massive swath of the country.
A storm will descend on the United States plunging Texas into a deep freeze before threatening to dump snow on New York City and Boston.
The conditions bring the threat of disruptions to gas production as water freezes inside pipelines – a situation that proved disastrous for Texas in 2021, when gas supply outages during extreme cold contributed to a collapse of the state’s power grid.
Weather models turned much colder overnight for the eastern two-thirds of the United States through early February, signalling higher energy demand for heating, according to commercial forecaster Commodity Weather Group.
“This is shaping up to be the most impactful storm of the winter so far,” said Jonathan Porter, chief meteorologist at AccuWeather Inc.
Futures for February delivery closed up 25% to US$4.875 per million British thermal units, the highest settlement for the front-month contract since Dec 8.
Prices have climbed 57% so far this week. — Bloomberg
