01
Jul
2022

Pricewatch | 01 Jul 2022 | Gas Matters Today

Only Subscribers can read the full Article

US gas benchmark Henry Hub plunged to its lowest level since late March on Thursday, with the loss pinned on a further delay to the restart of the Freeport LNG plant and a strong build in US gas storage levels.

The front-month Henry Hub contract closed 16.5% lower on Thursday to settle at USD 5.42/MMBtu – its lowest close since 29 March.

Freeport announcing that its plant will start partial operations one month later than previously planned weighed on the US gas benchmark. The Freeport outage, caused by a fire on 8 June, has seen more gas directed towards gas storage facilities, with the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reporting on Thursday that US inventories took 82 Bcf of gas for the week ending 24 June.

The build in storage was higher than market expectations and in turn weighed on Henry Hub.

Across the pond, European gas prices ticked higher. TTF was up 3% to close at the equivalent of USD 44.33/MMBtu, with UK gas benchmark NBP settling 1.5% higher at USD 30.19/MMBtu.

The Freeport announcement supported prices, with concerns over Russian gas supplies – which remained stable on Thursday – also helping lift European gas prices.

Asian LNG marker closed the gap on TTF after a 4% gain on Thursday, with the marker closing at USD 38.66/MMBtu. Heatwaves across Japan and China are lifting power demand, with Japan also impacted by the further delay at Freeport as Japanese firms are offtakers from the LNG plant in Texas.

As for oil, prices continued to slide after OPEC confirmed it would stick with its previously agreed production quota for August, despite growing supply concerns.

Front-month futures and indexes at last close with day-on-day changes (click to enlarge):

Time references based on London GMT. Brent, WTI, NBP, TTF and EU CO2 data from ICE. Henry Hub, JKM and API2 data from CME. Prices in USD/MMBtu based on exchange rates at last market close. All monetary values rounded to nearest whole cent/penny. Text and graphic copyright © Gas Strategies, all rights.

Contact the editor:

Eric Thorp
[email protected]

Subscription Benefits

Our three titles – LNG Business Review, Gas Matters and Gas Matters Today – tackle the biggest questions on global developments and major industry trends through a mixture of news, profiles and analysis.

LNG Business Review

LNG Business Review seeks to discover new truths about today’s LNG industry. It strives to widen market players’ scope of reference by actively engaging with events, offering new perspectives while challenging existing ones, and never shying away from being a platform for debate.

Gas Matters

Gas Matters digs deep into the stories of today, keeping the challenges of tomorrow in its sights. Weekly features and interviews, informed by unrivalled in-house expertise, offer a fresh perspective on events as well as thoughtful, intelligent analysis that dares to challenge the status quo.

Gas Matters Today

Gas Matters Today cuts through the bluster of online news and views to offer trustworthy, informed perspectives on major events shaping the gas and LNG industries. This daily news service provides unparalleled insight by drawing on the collective knowledge of in-house reporters, specialist contributors and extensive archive to go beyond the headlines, making it essential reading for gas industry professionals.

Did you know that your Internet Explorer Browser is out of date?

Your MS Internet Explorer browser is out of date, and will not be fully compatible with our website. For best browsing experience we recommend that you upgrade your IE browser to a more recent version or use an alternative, more recent browser.