Dow Jones - End of Day Commentary

DJ Natural Gas Snaps Five-Session Losing Streak


   By Nicole Friedman


  NEW YORK--Natural gas snapped a five-session losing streak Tuesday but held near 11-month lows, as traders weighed
near-term forecasts for mild weather against uncertainty about how much the upcoming winter will raise demand for the
heating fuel.

  Natural gas for November delivery settled up 4.1 cents, or 1.1%, at $3.711 a million British thermal units on the New
York Mercantile Exchange. Prices closed at the second-lowest level of the year.

  Cold temperatures boost demand for natural gas, which half of all American households use as a primary heating fuel.

  Weather forecasts for the next two weeks are predicting above-normal temperatures across the Central and Eastern U.S.

  "A burst of warming into the Midwest and East late this weekend into the first half of next week looks a bit stronger
again today," said forecaster Commodity Weather Group LLC in a note Tuesday.

  However, traders are still waiting to see how cold the winter will be. Last winter, sustained lower-than-average
temperatures prompted record-high demand for natural gas.

  "Prices will stay depressed until the market receives signs of demand, either through colder weather or power
generation," said Aaron Calder, analyst at Gelber & Associates in Houston, in a note.

   FUTURES           SETTLEMENT           NET CHANGE

   Nymex November    $3.711               +4.1c
   Nymex December    $3.800               +3.5c
   Nymex January     $3.881               +3.0c

   CASH HUB          RANGE                PREVIOUS DAY
   El Paso Perm      $3.46-$3.55          $3.50-$3.56
   El Paso SJ        $3.4625-$3.52        $3.515-$3.56
   Henry Hub         $3.60-$3.64          $3.65-$3.71
   Katy              $3.58-$3.64          $3.60-$3.64
   SoCal             $3.59-$3.65          $3.65-$3.80
   Tex East M3       $2.25-$2.59          $2.10-$2.42
   Transco 65        $3.55-$3.64          $3.60-$3.64
   Transco Z6        $2.38-$2.70          $2.25-$2.43
   Waha              $3.53-$3.56          $3.52-$3.55


  Write to Nicole Friedman at nicole.friedman@wsj.com


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  (END) Dow Jones Newswires

  October 21, 2014 15:36 ET (19:36 GMT)

  Copyright (c) 2014 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

102114 19:36 -- GMT
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