Although it was the end of the week, traders were very active, creating another day of high volatility. The NYMEX front-month contract started down -$0.10 USD/MMBtu, briefly rose to gains of $0.03 USD/MMBtu before collapsing again in the afternoon to settle down $0.12 USD/MMBtu (-3%), at $3.32 USD/MMBtu. Propelled primarily by Wednesday’s gains, the market still rose $0.10 USD/MMBtu (+3%) over the week. The downward pricing trend observed today is more in line with fundamental factors that remain bearish until significant winter demand arrives.

Shifting to Western Canada, Reuters reported that LNG Canada has begun the startup of Train 2. All previous flows from the facility have been from Train 1. We suspect a similarly long ramp-up period of 6 months to a year before we see the consistent 2 bcf/d demand expected from the facility. Last month, only 4 export cargoes were shipped compared to 5 cargoes in August. (PB)