While many of us are looking forward to the official arrival of spring and sustained warmer temperatures, those in the natural gas industry are beginning to wonder where we are going to put the gas come injection season. Natural gas storage currently sits at its highest level for this time of year with the end of winter quickly approaching. The March contract rolled off the board at $1.711 per MMBtu, after taking a 6.7 cent nosedive off another bearish storage report. March gave us our first monthly settle below $2.00 per MMBtu since October 2001. The first quarter of NYMEX settles for natural gas has averaged $2.091 per MMBtu. The April contract moved into the prompt position at $1.785 per MMBtu and continues to trade very near that range. At these levels, natural gas fired generation will be used in place of coal-fired generation this summer, but if El Nino makes a slow departure this summer, temperatures could remain more mild and the supply glut could continue.
