Dow Jones - Natural Gas Holds On Balanced Market

DJ Natural Gas Holds on Balanced Market



  By Timothy Puko


  Natural gas prices are holding close to unchanged Wednesday as near-record production and plateauing summer demand
balance the market.

  Natural-gas futures for September delivery recently gained 0.8 cent, or 0.3%, to $2.712 a million British thermal
units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. They closed at a one-month low on Tuesday and are still trading near the
bottom of a 31-cent range they have been in since June 9.

  Summer prices are closely tied to weather because consumption usually rises as people turn on their air-conditioning
units and ramp up demand for gas-powered electricity. Weather forecasts were largely unchanged on Wednesday, showing a
mix of above- and below-normal temperatures for the next two weeks, a sign of stable demand for the peak of the summer.

  There are also few signs that near-record production is going to drop substantially, keeping the market balanced with
both high production and peak-summer demand, said John Woods, president of JJ Woods Associates and a Nymex trader.

  "There really isn't any big move here or there," he said.

  Physical gas for next-day delivery at the Henry Hub in Louisiana last traded at $2.70/mmBtu, compared with Tuesday's
range of $2.70-$2.725. Cash prices at the Transco Z6 hub in New York last traded at $2.75/mmBtu, compared with
Tuesday's range of $2.65-$2.85.


  Write to Timothy Puko at tim.puko@wsj.com


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  (END) Dow Jones Newswires

  August 19, 2015 10:25 ET (14:25 GMT)

  Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

081915 14:25 -- GMT
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