The latest prices and key trends from the SM Commodities Index.
Natural gas
The Henry Hub natural gas price averaged just above $3/MMBtu in January, owing to one of the warmest January's on record, according to S&P Global.
Limited export capacity keeps the US insulated from high global pricing, and strong storage levels exiting winter will keep prices low.
Assuming normal weather, monthly average pricing will stay below $5/MMBtu this year.
Nickel
LME nickel prices temporarily rose above $30,000/tonne in January amid a weaker dollar and upward revisions to the 2023 global demand outlook.
The extreme increases for nickel prices also reflect a degree of short covering and lack of liquidity and trading activity on the LME nickel contract following the short squeeze in March of last year.
Prices have moved sharply lower over in early February, contracting nearly 10% from the recent peak, and will continue to soften into the third quarter as the nickel market shifts from deficit to surplus.
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