The February front month contract has increased 4% to close at $4.13 USD/mm. Although prices opened above the $4 threshold a couple days ago, it’s the first time in a year that the price has closed this high. It’s no secret that January has hit the US and Canada hard with some prolonged cold shots, and really rattled the market. So far, this has been the coldest January in 10 years, with the coldest temperatures still yet to come (bundle up on the 20th and 21st). There still isn’t a clear consensus on what February will look like. It may warm up to normal, but there could be more cold spurts to come. If they last, storage in the lower 48 could take a big hit by the time winter ends.
The prediction for tomorrow’s storage report is a withdrawal of -255 Bcf for the week ending January 10, a big jump from the previous report of -40 Bcf. We will likely rival last year’s record of -44 Bcf for a single-day-draw.