Term electricity markets across the U.S. mostly firmed during the week ended March 9 as values took into account subdued demand brought by the transition of winter to spring and higher fueling costs driven by modest gains in gas futures.
At the natural gas futures arena, the front-month April contract started the review week March 5 pressured by changing weather patterns and closed the session with a 0.9-cent gain at $2.704/MMBtu, which extended March 6 by 4.5 cents to $2.749/MMBtu as it derived support from lingering cold in forecasts.
Gains continued to define trading March 7 with the April contract rising 2.8 cents to $2.777/MMBtu as market participants positioned themselves ahead of the following day's release of weekly storage data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Following reports of a 57-Bcf net withdrawal during the week ended March 2, slightly lower than consensus estimates and well below the five-year average, front-month gas futures retreated March 8 to $2.756/MMBtu, dropping 2.1 cents.
The March 9 session saw April gas stay on the negative side of the ledger with the contract exiting the review week down 2.4 cents to $2.732/MMBtu. However, despite closing the week on the downside, overall, front-month gas added 2.8 cents from March 5-9.
The slight increase in fueling costs provided an incentive for traders to price power at a modest premium but with the uptick held back by lackluster demand driven by the transition of winter to spring.

Defining the week's muted sentiment were term deals at ERCOT North, where power was priced at $28.83 on March 5 and $29.37 on March 9, up 2% for the period.
Markets on the East Coast also leaned flat to higher. April power at the New England Mass hub changed hands at $33.74 on March 5 and $34.25 on March 9, notching a 2% weekly increase. A 1% week-on-week gain was seen at PJM West, where prompt-month power was quoted at $34.07 on March 5 and $34.54 on March 9. Deals at New York Zone G also noted a scant 1% increase for the period with April deals pegged at $32.35 on March 5 and $32.59 on March 9.
Across the West, prompt-month packages swung higher. In California, April packages at South Path-15 rose by 11% over the week and were priced at $24.59 on March 5 and $27.34 on March 9. In the Southwest, prompt-month power at Palo Verde gained 9% during the period with transactions posted at $24.40 on March 5 and $26.49 on March 9. In the Northwest, April values at Mid-Columbia noted a weekly increase of 2% with power prices opening at $14.75 on March 5 and closing at $14.97 on March 9.
Prices in the central U.S. were mixed but saw little change overall. PJM Northern Illinois saw power transacted at $29.10 on March 5 and $29.30 on March 9, up 1% for the week, while deals at PJM AEP-Dayton were near unchanged with packages assessed at $34.34 on March 5 and $34.48 on March 9. On the other hand, MISO Indiana trades were down 2% for the period and were seen at $34.63 on March 5 and $34.02 on March 9.


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.
