The December 2026 natural gas NYMEX contract was trading down 7 cents at $2.96 per MMBtu on October 29, 2026, according to NRG's Daily Market Update. The contract became the new prompt month after the November 2026 contract expired at $2.817/MMBtu on October 28. NRG reports that early trading on October 29 was at $2.979, about five cents below the $3.032 close recorded on Wednesday.
According to the same report, the 12-month and calendar strips were largely flat. The December 2026 crude oil contract was down $2.30 at $100.48, per NRG. The update does not attribute this move to a specific cause.
On the supply and demand side, NRG reports that dry gas production rose 0.5 Bcf/d to 111.6 Bcf/d, power burn slipped 0.9 Bcf/d to 32.8 Bcf/d, and LNG feedgas firmed 0.8 Bcf/d to 21.3 Bcf/d. NRG's near-term weather forecast keeps above-normal temperatures across the Central and Eastern U.S. into early November before warmth shifts north, which limits early heating demand. For storage, NRG cites expectations that the EIA report for the week ending October 23 will show an injection of 93 Bcf, compared with 74 Bcf a year earlier and a five-year average of 80 Bcf.
Stocks would rise to 3,737 Bcf, according to NRG, which places them 135 Bcf below year-ago levels and 12 Bcf above the five-year average. NRG also notes that another 90 Bcf build is expected the following week. The latest reported storage total in the report's table is 3,644 Bcf.
These figures are expectations cited by NRG, not published EIA data. NRG's fundamentals summary lists the following bearish factors: near-record gas production, healthy storage, and a backwardated forward pricing curve. The bullish factors it lists are record-high LNG exports, growing demand and data center load growth, and geopolitical factors and global supply swings.
NRG also reports geopolitical developments in the Middle East. Iran says three tankers struck mines and caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz, and Qatari mediators are awaiting Tehran's response to a new peace proposal. These are reported statements.
The source material does not independently verify them. NRG presents next-day on-peak power prices as day-ahead cleared levels for October 29, 2026, not current prices. They are CAISO SP15 at $50.53/MWh, ERCOT North Hub at $41.14/MWh, ISO-NE Mass Hub at $40.01/MWh, MISO AMIL at $47.51/MWh, NYISO Zone G at $42.97/MWh, and PJM West Hub at $74.86/MWh.
NRG notes that these levels indicate where unhedged load would have settled. Source: NRG Energy, Inc., Daily Market Update, October 29, 2026.
Source: nrg.com