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Henry Hub Natural Gas Spot Prices 2006

Several factors contributed to lower prices this week. Cooler-than-normal temperatures limited demand for natural gas as a fuel for power generation to meet air-conditioning load. Supply was considered ample at this point in the build season (April to October). There was an absence of industrial demand over the holiday and a lack of any significant tropical storm activity in the Gulf of Mexico. On July 5, the Henry Hub natural gas spot price had fallen 33 cents per million British thermal units (mmBtu), or 5.5 percent, since last Wednesday to $5.71. This Wednesday's price of $5.71 was nearly two dollars lower than the price of $7.68 per mmBtu on the first Wednesday in July, 2005.

The amount of natural gas in storage in the East Region increased 3.7 percent to 1,409 billion cubic feet for the week ending June 30, which was 332 billion cubic feet above the five-year average. Nebraska is a part of the East Region (see map) which is a major natural gas consumer, particularly in the residential and commercial sectors. The industrial sector, which includes agriculture, is also a major consumer in this state. Most of the gas is supplied from the Producing Region with a fair amount imported from Canada. The Henry Hub in southern Louisiana is a major market center with interconnections for many of the pipelines that transport U.S.-produced gas to the East Region. Furthermore, the Henry Hub is the preferred reference point for prices for most of the domestic gas destined for the East. Therefore, market conditions and developments in the East Region and price movements and trends at the Henry Hub are usually highly correlated.

Notes: An archive is available. Divide the price by ten (10) to obtain the price per hundred cubic feet (ccf) or the approximate price per therm.

Natural Gas Spot Prices at the Henry Hub
2004, 2005, and 2006

This line graph shows weekly natural gas spot prices at the Henry Hub for the years 2004, 2005, and 2006.

Natural Gas Spot Prices at the Henry Hub 2006

[Price per Million British Thermal Units (mmBtu)]

Day Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Note: NA = Not available.
1 $8.71 $6.62 $6.54 $6.24 NA NA NA NA
2 Holiday $8.00 $6.69 $6.68 $6.23 NA NA NA
3 $9.91 $8.01 $6.59 $7.05 $6.56 Holiday NA NA NA
4 $9.25 $7.02 $6.46 Holiday NA NA NA NA
5 $9.23 $6.88 $6.80 $6.41 $5.71 NA NA NA
6 $9.28 $8.26 $6.49 $7.05 $6.16 $5.28 NA NA NA NA
7 $7.73 $6.53 $6.80 $5.82 NA NA NA NA NA
8 $7.88 $6.48 $6.54 $5.85 NA NA NA NA
9 $8.80 $7.56 $6.31 $6.56 $6.10 NA NA NA
10 $8.60 $7.56 $6.40 $6.83 $6.50 NA NA NA NA
11 $8.55 $6.99 $6.81 NA NA NA NA NA
12 $8.70 $6.79 $6.35 $6.02 NA NA NA NA
13 $8.53 $7.36 $6.76 $6.67 $5.95 NA NA NA NA NA
14 $7.03 $7.14 Holiday $6.09 NA NA NA NA NA
15 $7.31 $7.10 $5.92 $6.43 NA NA NA NA
16 Holiday $7.16 $7.12 $5.99 $7.04 NA NA NA
17 $8.81 $7.38 $7.17 $7.22 $6.16 NA NA NA NA
18 $8.85 $7.61 $5.78 NA NA NA NA NA
19 $8.21 $7.72 $5.77 $6.71 NA NA NA NA
20 $8.78 Holiday $7.00 $7.96 $6.62 NA NA NA NA NA
21 $7.40 $6.83 $7.64 $6.50 NA NA NA NA NA
22 $7.54 $7.07 $5.90 $6.51 NA NA NA NA
23 $8.29 $7.23 $7.16 $6.27 $6.14 NA NA NA
24 $8.25 $7.40 $7.43 $7.73 $6.01 NA NA NA NA
25 $8.50 $7.37 $5.86 NA NA NA NA NA
26 $7.85 $7.18 $5.78 $5.89 NA NA NA NA
27 $8.18 $6.97 $7.06 $6.93 $5.97 NA NA NA NA NA
28 $6.68 $7.15 $6.65 $6.04 NA NA NA NA NA
29 $7.16 Holiday $6.09 NA NA NA NA
30 $8.35 $7.18 $6.21 $5.83 NA NA NA
31 $8.73 $6.98 $5.97 NA NA NA

Sources: Natural Gas Weekly Update. Energy Information Administration, Washington, DC. Nebraska Energy Office, Lincoln, NE.

This report was updated on July 7, 2006.
Typically, there is one week between updates.