Watch: Market Movers Americas, June 13-17: Texas Gulf Coast LNG outage adds to global energy concerns

In this week's Market Movers: A Texas Gulf Coast LNG outage puts pressure on NYMEX natural gas futures, a heat wave in Texas is likely to lift power prices, yearly US coal export projections fall amid Ukraine war uncertainty, and clean freight falls due to tonnage replenishments.

In the energy sector, the recent suspension of feedgas deliveries to Freeport LNG in Texas is promising to cool the rally in NYMEX gas futures prices over the coming days and weeks. Last week, an explosion at the Quintana Island facility prompted the shutdown of its three liquefaction trains, which had been consuming about 2 billion cubic feet per day. The glut of additional supply quickly brought gas futures prices down by more than 1 dollar per MMBtu. With more gas likely to be directed to storage this month, the NYMEX rally could continue to recede amid growing uncertainty over the timeline of Freeport's potentially extended outage.

Shifting our attention to the coal industry, as the Russia-Ukraine war fuels energy market volatility, the Energy Information Administration estimates 2022 US coal exports will decrease 4.8% from 2021 levels. Factors driving energy supply uncertainty include the impact of sanctions against Russia and the rate of new US oil and gas drilling. Meanwhile, US coal-fired generation is projected to fall to 21.2% in 2022 amid coal fleet constraints like limited rail capacity. Despite falling coal exports and a lower stack share, coal production is expected to rise 3.9% on year in 2022 as utilities seek to rebuild coal stocks.

Power prices in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas may stay elevated this week, as a heat wave continues to boost cooling system power demand. Last Friday, ERCOT forecast a new record peakload would be set today at 76.1 gigawatts, but this was still down from an earlier forecast, so ERCOT North Hub dailies fell on Friday for Monday delivery. The National Weather Service forecast triple-digit highs and heat indexes for Dallas through Tuesday, and highs near 100 degrees Fahrenheit later this week. This brings us to our social media question of the week: With the summer starting off hot and power prices starting the season strong, will prices eventually stabilize or will they rise the whole summer? Tweet us your thoughts.

Lastly, the Americas clean tanker market's freight has dropped to three-week lows for several key Medium-Range tanker routes after tonnage was replenished last week, which allowed charterers to push for lower rates. Market participants will continue to monitor impacts to the build in regional positions for this week. Owner sentiment remains strong towards short-haul runs, which are proving favorable as they look to keep themselves well positioned in the US Gulf Coast, ready to jump on a strengthening European market when the incentive opens to carry product to Europe.

The Platts Atlas of Energy Transition is your map to the sustainable commodity markets of the future. You can explore the Atlas by visiting the address displayed on your screen. Thanks for kicking off your Monday with us and have a great week ahead.