• While the natural gas commodity and power price remained relatively flat, there was some movement in New England Basis. New England basis reacts to changes in the price of the marginal fuels needed for the winter supply. While LNG has been the focus, crude oil prices are also important as crude oil is used as a backup fuel at dual-fuel power generators. Last Christmas Eve during Winter storm Elliot, oil-fired generators provided 40% of the power. This past week crude oil gained $6.12/bbl, and basis went up $.19/MMBtu.
  • Crude oil has been affected by new OPEC production cuts and a shutdown of an oil field in Libya. The oil field in Libya was shut down due to protests.
  • The EIA announced an injection of 49 Bcf for the week ending July 7th. The injection was 6 Bcf lower than the five-year average and slightly below expectations. After adjustments that increased the injection for the week ending 6/30, the market is trading slightly lower.