How to read this graph.
Best month to lock in natural gas rates.
During the spring march april and fall september october we traditionally see the lowest usage of gas and electric for the average user.
The graph above reflects a spread of new york mercantile exchange nymex clearing prices for natural gas from 2015 2019.
When thinking about the best time to lock in a fixed price for natural gas or electricity supply you need to understand what a shoulder month is.
This depends on a variety of factors including time of year and your business tolerance to risk.
When is the best time of year to lock in your long term electricity contract.
If natural gas and electricity prices are the lowest they have been in months it s probably a good idea to lock in a fixed rate plan.
By joe quenet on 04 08 13 as shown in the chart below there s historical proof that long term fixed price electricity contract rates tend to go down during the fall and spring season each year as natural gas prices move toward their seasonal lows.
But how do you know when is the right time to lock in your natural gas rate.
Natural gas prices rise through spring into summer.