US spot gas prices fall in July, but Northeast, Gulf Coast stay over $7 mark

The average price of natural gas for day-ahead delivery decreased month over month in all U.S. regions in July, but the average prices were still higher than year-ago levels. The Northeast and Gulf Coast regions maintained averages above the $7.00/MMBtu mark.

Gulf Coast gas prices dropped 2.24% from the prior month to $7.489/MMBtu, but the average is still 104.52% higher than the average for the region in the previous year. The Northeast recorded a 1.34% decrease month over month, the smallest decrease among all regions, to an average of $7.133/MMBtu, which is still up 117.70% year-over-year, the largest yearly gain among all the regions.

The West saw the largest monthly decline at 8.89% to $6.593/MMBtu, the lowest average among all the regions. The West also has the smallest yearly gain at 70.04%. The Midcontinent decreased 6.58% month over month to $6.858/MMBtu.

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Northeast gas hubs

All gas hubs in the Northeast posted double- or triple-digit gains year over year, ranging from 90.86% to as high as 180.64% in July.

All of the hubs recorded spot gas price indexes that ended above $6.00/MMBtu. The Tennessee at Dracut hub, which gained 176.82% year-over-year, reported the highest index at $9.531/MMBtu.

Gulf Coast gas hubs

All gas hubs in the Gulf Coast also posted double-digit and triple-digit gains year over year, ranging from 84.51% to as high as 182.21% in July.

All of the hubs recorded spot gas price indexes that ended above $6.00/MMBtu. The Transco Z 4 hub, the highest year-over-year gainer, also reported the highest index at $10.672/MMBtu.

Supply-side forecast

On the supply side, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its monthly "Drilling Productivity Report" released July 18 that it expected all the shale gas-producing regions in the country except the Anadarko Basin to increase production in August compared to the prior month.

Gas production in Appalachia, the largest shale gas-producing region in the U.S., was expected to increase from 35.12 Bcf/d in July to 35.33 Bcf/d in August. The Haynesville Shale region was forecast to grow production from about 15.26 Bcf/d to 15.48 Bcf/d. The EIA projected total U.S. shale gas production to climb from 92.27 Bcf/d in July to 93.02 Bcf/d in August.

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.

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