Cool spring: weather and tighter supply help raise Alberta prices
Gas prices rise in Canada
Cooler weather and tighter supplies led to an increase in Canadian spot natural gas prices.
Spot gas at the AECO storage hub in south-eastern Alberta averaged C$9.67 (US$9.64) a gigajoule, up 26 Canadian cents from Wednesday, Reuters reported.
Canadian export gas prices also rose. Spot gas at Niagara, Ontario, most of which is shipped to the US North-east, climbed 29 cents to average $11.87 per million British thermal unit.
In the West, spot gas at Huntingdon-Sumas on the British Columbia-Washington border gained 8 cents to $10.26 per mmBtu.
Low temperatures in southern Alberta were expected to dip below freezing this weekend and stay around that mark at least through Tuesday, prompting heating demand.
Environment Canada forecast Toronto temperatures to be around normal into next week, with lows of 5 to 10 Celsius (41 to 50 Fahrenheit).
Meanwhile, the province’s main pipeline system ran about 340 million cubic feet under the target set by operator TransCanada Corp as storage injections climbed to 1.5 billion cubic feet.