While Oil gets beat up, Natural Gas traders are now talking of a potential shortage. Despite record production, supplies in storage can’t get caught up and now with some projecting a cold snap, it could cause a natural gas price spike. Andrew Weissman of EBW Analytics says we could be getting close to a major price spike.  He said that over the weekend, weather forecasts for the next five to six days shifted slightly warmer, potentially leading to downward pressure for gas on Monday. Later in the week, things will change.

Support is continuing to grow though, for a cold shift starting as soon as next weekend. While the intensity of this shift and duration remain uncertain, absent a major reversal, natural gas prices are likely to move back above $4.00/MMBtu by the end of the week.

For oil, it is all about economic turmoil. Bloomberg reported that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin called top executives from the six largest U.S. banks over the weekend, a move that followed heavy losses in the stock market last week and a partial federal government shutdown. Mnuchin tweeted about the meeting on Sunday. “The CEOs confirmed that they have ample liquidity available for lending to consumer, business markets, and all other market operations,” the Treasury said in a statement attached to Mnuchin’s tweet. “He also confirmed that they have not experienced any clearance or margin issues.”

I’ll be out of the office today. Merry Christmas!