GIA North America spot price climbs week on week, spurred by jump in West

New York — The GIA North America spot price averaged $1.93/MMBtu over the past five trading sessions of August 10 through August 14, an 18-cent increase from the $1.75/MMBtu averaged the week prior.

The gains experienced week on week can be attributed to increases in price across several regions, led by gains in the West.

The GIA West spot price averaged $2.60/MMBtu, a jump of 58 cents from the $2.02/MMBtu averaged August 3 through August 7. The increase in prices for the West come as high temperatures across the region and maintenances have given an upward push to prices.

The only region not seeing increases on the week was the Northeast, with GIA Northeast averaging $1.45/MMBtu a decrease of 10 cents from the $1.55/MMBtu averaged the week prior.

Looking ahead, the most recent eight- to 14-day weather outlook from the National Weather Service calls for a high likelihood of warmer-than-average temperatures for the entirety of the Southwestern US, which could continue to give support to elevated prices in the region.

S&P Global Platts Analytics projects total West demand to average 10.9 Bcf/d over the next eight to 14 days, with power demand accounting for 6.3 Bcf/d of that total.