Daily natural gas spot prices in western United States exceed $50.00/MMBtu in December

On December 21, 2022, daily natural gas spot prices at three major trading hubs in the western United States (Pacific Gas & Electric [PG&E] Citygate, Northwest Sumas on the Canada-Washington border, and Malin, Oregon) were higher than $50.00 per million British thermal units (MMBtu). These hub prices were higher than in any other market and averaged $48.12/MMBtu above the Henry Hub benchmark, which was $6.14/MMBtu on December 21. PG&E Citygate in Northern California and Malin, Oregon, the northern delivery point into the PG&E service territory, reported the highest natural gas spot prices since December 2000—in both real and nominal terms—according to pricing data from Natural Gas Intelligence. The price at Southern California (SoCal) Citygate was highest on December 13 at $49.67/MMBtu.