(Replace) January 23, 2026, 8:33 PM GMT: Article up to date.
US pure fuel futures for February supply surged by 70% this week because the market braced for a historic winter storm that’s poised to ship temperatures plummeting and increase demand for the heating gas.
Futures settled up 4.6%, or by 23 cents, to $5.275 per million British thermal models. That settlement was up by $2.172 per million Btu from the tip of final week and capped the biggest weekly share achieve by far in information going again to 1990.
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Pure fuel costs for near-term supply at regional buying and selling hubs throughout the US additionally jumped. So-called money costs for fuel on the benchmark Henry Hub in Louisiana to be delivered over the weekend surged on Friday to increased than $28 per million British thermal models, in line with merchants. That compares with $8.42 on Thursday.
Spot costs on the SoCal Citygate hub in California traded as excessive as $8 per million Btu as fuel volumes delivered through pipeline from the Permian Basin in West Texas to the West Coast have possible been lowered, merchants mentioned. That’s up from $4.42 on Thursday. Spot costs on the Houston Chip Channel had been buying and selling at $30 per million Btu on Friday morning, merchants mentioned. The Transco zone 6 non-New York index, an indicator for costs from Baltimore to New Jersey, traded Friday afternoon at $58 per million Btu, merchants mentioned.
This week’s surge has been pushed by forecasts for below-normal temperatures throughout a lot of the nation, threatening to spice up fuel consumption and drain inventories. The freeze — notably within the southern gas-producing states — has raised issues about water icing in pipelines, doubtlessly disrupting output beginning this weekend. One power consultancy, Vitality Facets, raised its forecast for a way a lot manufacturing will probably be misplaced to so-called freeze-offs over the subsequent 14 days to 86.4 billion cubic ft, equal to five.5% of US fuel manufacturing, from 63.7 bcf on Thursday.
The shift in US climate forecasts got here days after hedge funds turned extra bearish on fuel on the finish of final week, leaving the market poised for a rally as merchants rushed to shut out these wagers. Gasoline costs briefly climbed above $5.50 per million Btu on Thursday, a degree {that a} Citigroup Inc. evaluation on Thursday confirmed would wipe out all shorts.
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