Dow Jones - Natural Gas Slides As Autumn Nears

DJ Natural Gas Slides as Autumn Nears


   By Timothy Puko


  Natural gas prices are sliding slightly Friday as the oncoming autumn and its typical decline in gas demand causes a
retreat from Thursday's rally on a small weekly surplus.

  Natural gas futures for September delivery recently fell four cents, or 1.5%, to $2.715 a million British thermal
units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Trading has been limited to a 5.5-cent range for the day and prices are back
toward the bottom of a 31-cent range they have been stuck in for more than two months.

  Summer prices are closely tied to heat because consumption usually rises as people turn on their air-conditioning
units and ramp up demand for gas-powered electricity. Friday's weather forecasts are little changed, but the peak of
the summer is starting to pass.

  The fall typically brings a decline in natural-gas demand as the weather is too mild to cause heating or cooling
demand. That is likely weighing on prices for September and October futures a day after data showing a
smaller-than-expected surplus last week pushed gas to its largest gains since Aug. 12, analysts said.

  "The market is now past historical peak summer demand and moving towards worry" about growing additions to stockpiles
in the milder weeks to come, Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co., a Houston investment bank, said in a note.

  Physical gas for next-day delivery at the Henry Hub in Louisiana last traded at $2.69/mmBtu, compared with Thursday's
range of $2.69-$2.735. Cash prices at the Transco Z6 hub in New York last traded at $2.78/mmBtu, compared with
Thursday's range of $2.31-$2.70.


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


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  (END) Dow Jones Newswires

  August 21, 2015 10:01 ET (14:01 GMT)

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

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