Natural Gas
Natural gas prices experienced a roller coaster ride this week, beginning in the upper $3.60/MMBtu range and then falling sharply to $3.60/MMBtu. Prices then rebounded above the $3.70 mark on to drop once again to $3.63/MMBtu today. Despite the crazy ride gas took this week, prices are far above the low posted last week by .11 cents. The market switched from a bearish outlook to a small bullish. Storage received an injection of 82 Bcf, moving storage to 2687 Bcf. Despite this gain, storage is 443 Bcf below last years high mark. Storage is still within the 5 year average.
Crude Oil
Crude oil has been relatively stable for the past week. Prices stayed above the $100/barrel mark for the 2nd straight week. Prices hit a high point of $106/barrel on Monday, despite being short lived. Prices hit a low of $102/barrel due to the speculation that Egypt would resolve the crisis involving their president. This brought prices down, however didn’t have a huge effect on oil. U.S. stockpiles continue to decline, however this depletion is starting to slow. Current prices for crude oil are 104.78/barrel. The outlook on oil is still bullish, after increasing nearly $5 from last week.
Commercial Electricity
Normally the grid experiences peaks on the back end of the month, but analyst are already keeping a steady eye on the Texas grid. With predictions of the peak reaching around 63,500 , this would be one of the earliest times the grid has experience this high of peaks. The end of the month is also expected to see some highs as well, much larger than 63.5 K
ERCOT:
Prices were seen between .05 cents – .079 cents
PJM:
Prices ranged between .048 cents – .072 cents
NYISO:
Prices varied between .049 cents – .082 cents
MISO
Prices ranged between .04 cents – .07 cents
Weather Outlook
As the summer begins into it’s second month, temperatures will be on the rise across most of the country. The South will be experiencing an increase in temperatures from 2 – 6 degrees throughout next week. The Northeast will be experience similar temperatures through the weekend that they have been experiencing. Next week however a increase of 2 -4 degrees is expected. The West will continue to see dry, hot temperatures, with an increase anywhere from 2 -4 degrees. The Midwest, which has been relatively cooler than normal, will see a decrease in temperatures this weekend. However, this is only to be followed by an increase of 2-6 degrees the following week. These temperature increases could explain why the grid in Texas is already experiencing high peak power loads this early July.
