US spot gas prices plummet about 75% YOY in May, with most areas below $2/MMBtu

The average prices of natural gas for day-ahead delivery across all US regions plunged by about three-fourths year over year in May.

Northeast average gas spot prices slid 10.39% month over month to $1.677/MMBtu, the lowest average among all regions. The Northeast had the biggest year-over-year decline of any region, with the average gas price declining 77.88%.

Among month-over-month changes in average gas spot prices, the West reported the largest drop, with prices tumbling 39.78% from the prior month to $1.852/MMBtu. The region's average price fell 75.27% year over year.

The Gulf Coast regional price fell 74.27% from 2022 but inched up 1.51% from April to $2.017/MMBtu, the highest average among the regions.

The Midcontinent gas price decreased 74.19% year over year but ticked up 1.07% month over month to an average of $1.974/MMBtu.

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Hub results

All natural gas hubs in the Northeast saw prices drop more than 70% year over year in May. The declines ranged from 72.87% to 75.75%.

All Gulf Coast hubs recorded spot gas price indexes around $2/MMBtu and below. The ANR-Patterson hub, which had the smallest year-over-year price decrease, reported the highest index in May at $2.167/MMBtu.

Supply forecasts

All shale regions in the US except the Anadarko region will likely increase gas production in June compared with the prior month, the US Energy Information Administration said in its monthly "Drilling Productivity Report" released May 15. The EIA projected total US shale gas production to rise from 96.98 Bcf/d in May to 97.24 Bcf/d in June.

Gas production in Appalachia, the region that produces the most shale gas in the US, was expected to increase from 35.26 Bcf/d in May to 35.31 Bcf/d in June. Production in the Haynesville Shale region is forecast to grow from about 16.81 Bcf/d to 16.88 Bcf/d during the same period.