The U.S. ethane-to-Henry Hub ratio is averaging 111% so far for July 2026 (red bar), 4 percentage points above June's 107% average and 6 percentage points above the 105% average for the same month last year. Ethane is averaging about 23¢/gal so far for July, while Henry Hub natural gas is averaging about $3/MMBtu. The ratio has increased for three consecutive months and now stands modestly above year-ago levels.
The WTI crude-to-gas ratio has declined for three straight months, falling to 21.40 in July to date and moving to within 5% of year-ago levels.
U.S. Gulf Coast ethane exports were up sharply in September thanks to the startup of new export terminals in Texas. The surge in export volumes contributed to an 8% increase in ethane prices between July and September and a similar jump in the ratio between ethane and natural gas. In today’s RBN blog, we look at how the recent additions to export capacity have impacted prices and review the basics of ethane economics.
With the February price of natural gas soaring above $5/MMbtu last week in response to Winter Storm Fern, the ethane-to-gas ratio has been crushed below 0.75 for the first time since mid-2019.
