The EIA’s Today in Energy summarizes the year here: (http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=29552
“Natural gas prices in U.S. regional markets were volatile in 2016. In the first quarter of the year, much warmer-than-normal winter temperatures and large amounts of natural gas in storage caused prices to decrease. Prices began to gradually increase in late spring, with increased natural gas demand from multiple sectors and decreasing natural gas production, before sharply increasing at the end of the year with the onset of cold temperatures in mid-December.
In the Northeast, where natural gas pipeline capacity is often constrained, cold weather can cause monthly average prices at hubs such as Algonquin Citygate (near Boston) and Transco Zone 6 NY (New York) to spike. Although this happened in 2016, new pipeline capacity and increased natural gas production in the Appalachian Basin, along with warmer-than-usual winter weather, contributed to price spikes that were considerably lower than in previous years.
Because of warm weather, natural gas consumption in the residential and commercial sectors in 2016 declined 7% and 4%, respectively, from the previous year. Warmer winter temperatures also limited natural gas storage withdrawals. As a result, natural gas storage inventories were at or near record levels throughout most of the year and reached a record 4,047 billion cubic feet (Bcf) for the week ending November 11.”
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