December is bringing a clear shift in market sentiment as colder forecasts and firm LNG demand pushed natural gas prices higher. Henry Hub settled at $4.424/MMBtu for the month of December (up more than $0.60 from November), while the winter strip rebounded to about $4.17/MMBtu. January 2026 briefly priced above December, reflecting tighter near-term heating demand.
Power forwards across PJM, NYISO, and ISO-NE held their elevated structure as rising gas prices and ongoing structural load growth continued to support forward curves. Electrification, data center expansion, and tightening reserve margins, especially PJM’s warnings of potential 2026/27 capacity shortfalls, kept winter pricing firm.
Major themes shaping the outlook, such as regulatory friction over interconnection, unprecedented AI-driven demand growth, and rapid deployment of storage and gas infrastructure, are reinforcing long-term tightness across gas and power markets heading into 2026.
