What Drives Natural Gas Prices? Stephen Brown and Mine Yücel Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
Natural Gas and Oil Prices
Pricing Rules of Thumb Do Oil Prices Matter?
Some Pricing Rules 10-to-1: Henry Hub price is 0.1P WTI 6-to-1: Henry Hub price is P WTI Burner-tip parity: Henry Hub price is P WTI Based on competition with residual fuel oil
Old Rules of Thumb to 1 Rule 6 to 1 Rule Actual Spot $/MMBtu
Burner-Tip Parity Burner-Tip Parity Actual Spot $/MMBtu
Looking Beyond Pricing Rules of Thumb
Other Factors Weather Seasonality Storage Production Disruptions
U.S. Natural Gas Production
Natural Gas Storage Year Seasonal Average Billion cubic feet 5-Year Maximum 5-Year Minimum
Natural Gas Storage Gas in Storage 5-Year Seasonal Average Projected Storage Billion cubic feet 5-Year Maximum 5-Year Minimum
Econometric Modeling Investigate the influence of –WTI –Weather –Seasonality –storage –production disruptions on natural gas prices.
Variables Price of HH Price of WTI Heating Degree Days Deviations from normal HDD Cooling Degree Days Deviations from CDD Storage Differential Shut in production
Results (1) Crude oil and natural gas prices move together in the long run Changes in crude oil prices lead changes in natural gas prices If the two prices move away from each other, relationship restored in 19 weeks
Results (2) Significant variables: +Price of crude oil +Heating degree days +HDD deviation from normal +CDD deviation from normal -Storage differential from seasonal norm +Shut-in production
Natural Gas Price Brown-Yücel Model
$/MMBtu Natural Gas Price Outlook Actual Spot Price Futures Price, Nov 15 Long Run Relationship with Oil Long-Term Outlook
Natural gas price outlook
Conclusion Simple rules of thumb don’t explain natural gas prices well Natural gas prices not decoupled from oil –anchored to oil prices in the long run –Short run dynamics depend on other variables such as weather, storage and production disruptions Linkage likely to continue
What Drives Natural Gas Prices? Stephen Brown and Mine Yücel Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas