DJ Natural Gas Falls on Cooler Weather
By Nicole Friedman
NEW YORK--Natural-gas prices fell to a two-week low Monday as weather forecasts called for cool temperatures in the
next two weeks, lowering demand expectations.
Futures for September delivery settled down 7.3 cents, or 2.6%, to $2.728 a million British thermal units on the New
York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest settlement since July 31.
"U.S. natural gas prices are now headed decisively lower this week as traders come to terms with reduced...demand,"
said Teri Viswanath, director of commodity strategy for natural gas at BNP Paribas SA, in a note. "Traders are becoming
increasingly nervous about surplus supplies."
Weather outlooks released late Sunday showed "a surge of cooling this week into the Midwest and Deep South,"
according to Commodity Weather Group LLC. Below-normal temperatures at this time of year reduce demand for
natural-gas-powered electricity to run air-conditioning units.
Natural-gas prices have traded in a tight range between $2.60 and $2.95/mmBtu for most of the summer, as traders
weighed robust production against increased consumption.
"So far this summer, hotter-than-expected weather has repeatedly boosted natural gas," said Andy Weissman, chief
executive of EBW AnalyticsGroup, in a note. "This bullish streak, however, has most likely played itself out, setting
the stage for significant price declines over the next week to 10 days."
Write to Nicole Friedman at nicole.friedman@wsj.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 17, 2015 15:28 ET (19:28 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
081715 19:28 -- GMT
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