Oil-and-gas companies are anticipating a friendlier environment in Washington as the House comes under Republican rule next year, while the clean-energy sector is bracing for a slowdown in the Biden administration’s aggressive push away from fossil fuels.

U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)

Trends in the Energy Market

• With the onset of winter, NYMEX futures have been volatile, trending upward. As November comes to its end, December NYMEX settled at $6.71 per MMBtu. January 2023 is now the prompt month.
  
  
• Expect natural gas futures to trade in the $6.00 - $8.00 / MMBtu range through the coming winter, with April 2023 futures and beyond showing a significant drop.
  
  
• The near-term 11-20 day forecast shows a strong shot of cold air through the heart of the country into the Northeast building into the middle of December. The South will generally remain seasonal. Existing snowpack in Canada and the northern U.S. is significant and will allow for cold air to move south.
  
  
• Natural gas production has climbed slowly but steadily. November average was 99.3 Bcf/day an increase of 0.1 Bcf/day from the prior month.
  
  
• Global LNG exports remain strong. The Freeport, Texas LNG export terminal is now expected to resume operations in early January.
  
  
• Global crude oil demand is down, especially with China's zero Covid policies in place. Prompt-month future continue to trade down settling at $76.52/bbl.
  
  
• The economy seems to be giving off bearish signals. Home sales have continued to fall and stagnate. Inflation remains high and will damper the holiday season. Job growth has also fallen off of previous highs.
  
  
• Forward electricity prices were up in all regions week over week. ISONE and NYISO saw large double-digit percentage increases of 16.4% and 16% respectively. PJM prices increased between 8.3%-9.4% and MISO prices were up 7.7%-7.8%.