Nearly all pricing points were down modestly for the week following passage of the heat wave that had earlier gripped most of the country. The Henry Hub price decreased 20 cents per million Btu (MMBtu) over the week (down 4.5 percent) to close at $4.26 per MMBtu on August 3.

• At the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), the downward price response was somewhat more pronounced (down 5.3 percent) with the September 2011 natural gas contract losing ground over the week, closing at $4.090 per MMBtu on Wednesday.
• Working natural gas in storage rose last week to 2,758 billion cubic feet (Bcf) as of Friday, July 29, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report (WNGSR). The implied increase for the week was 44 Bcf, leaving storage volumes positioned 186 Bcf under year-ago levels.
• The natural gas rotary rig count, as reported July 29 by Baker Hughes Incorporated, fell by 12 to 877 active units. Meanwhile, oil-directed rigs were up 4 to 1,025 units, expanding the diversion between the two drilling strategies

Information Provided By:

U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)
1000 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, DC 20585