Natural Gas Prices Experience Largest One-Day Spike Ever
January 27, 2022
On Thursday, January 27, in the midst of cold winter temperatures and on the heels of an approaching winter storm in the Northeast, natural gas prices spiked 46% to $6.265 per MMBtu. This marks the largest one-day increase ever in recorded data, which stretches all the way back to 1990. The increase in prices occurred after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a significant decline in natural gas storage, from 2,810 Bcf to 2,591 Bcf. The February 2022 natural gas futures contract expired at the end of the market’s close today; analysts suggested this was part of the reason the spike in prices occurred. By contrast, the March 2022 natural gas contract finished 6.1% higher on the day, settling at $4.283 per MMBtu.
