Spot natural gas prices across US drop in November from prior month

Average natural gas prices for day-ahead delivery in November declined from the prior month to less than the $5/MMBtu benchmark in all regions of the U.S., with the Northeast region recording the smallest monthly drop of less than 1% to a spot gas price index of $4.954/MMBtu.

During the month, the Gulf Coast region saw the highest month-over-month decrease of 7.2% to a spot gas price index of $4.916/MMBtu. The Mid-Continent and West regions, meanwhile, saw month-over-month drops of 7.1% and 6.8%, respectively, to spot gas price indexes of $4.816/MMBtu and $4.877/MMBtu. Still, all of the regions' average natural gas spot price indexes were higher than the levels recorded in the same period a year earlier.

Year-over-year growth in gas hubs in the Northeast region ranged from 108% to as high as 310% in November. Similar to the prior month, only the Tennessee at Dracut gas hub saw its spot gas price index exceed the $6/MMBtu mark, recording a spot gas price index of $6.035/MMBtu during the month. Meanwhile, all other gas hubs remained above the $4/MMBtu level.

On the supply side, the U.S. Energy Information Administration in its monthly Drilling Productivity Report released Nov. 15 forecast total shale gas production to rise to approximately 89.38 Bcf/d in December, from 89.15 Bcf/d in November. Among the shale gas-producing regions in the country, only the Anadarko region is expected to see production decline, falling to 6.17 Bcf/d in December from 6.20 Bcf/d in November.

Meanwhile, the EIA anticipates production in Appalachia, the biggest shale gas producing region in the U.S., to increase to about 35.61 Bcf/d in December, from 35.60 Bcf/d in November. The Haynesville region is expected to post the biggest month-over-month production boost to roughly 13.89 Bcf/d in December, from 13.78 Bcf/d in November.

Market prices and included industry data are current as of the time of publication and are subject to change. For more detailed market data, including power and natural gas index prices, as well as forwards and futures, visit our Commodities pages.