Dow Jones - End of Day Commentary

DJ Natural Gas Prices Down as Fall Forecast Warms Up



  By Christian Berthelsen


  A burgeoning rally in natural gas prices deflated Tuesday as forecasts moderated for the first cool weather of the
fall, with expectations fading for a strong start to heating season.

  Natural gas futures for the new front-month November contract ended down 8.4 cents, or 3.1%, to $2.586 a million
British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange, more than erasing gains booked the day before.

  Weather forecasts on Monday showed the first below-normal temperatures of the fall season beginning to creep in
across a wide swath spanning from the northwest to the southeast, and falling temperatures in key eastern and Midwest
demand regions. But those outlooks began to moderate on Tuesday, with temperatures in most of those regions returning
to normal over the next two weeks.

  "Yesterday's rally has fizzled," research consultancy Gelber & Associates said in a note. Tuesday's weather outlook
"took a fair amount of cold out of the forecasts."

  Natural gas prices have been locked in a tight range for most of spring and summer amid weak demand and surging U.S.
production and supplies. Demand is expected to begin rising with the onset of cooler fall weather.

  Natural gas stockpiles have been growing after a season of strong production and mild weather that limited demand, a
factor that has weighed on the market throughout the spring and summer. The Energy Information Administration said last
week that the U.S. has 3.44 trillion cubic feet of gas in storage, 15.7% above year-ago levels and 4.5% above average
for this time of year.


  FUTURES SETTLEMENT NET CHANGE

  Nymex November $2.586 -8.4c

  Nymex December $2.763 -7.4c

  Nymex January $2.884 -6.7c


  CASH HUB RANGE PREVIOUS SESSION

  El Paso Perm $2.45-$2.515 $2.51-$2.555

  El Paso SJ $2.45-$2.50 $2.48-$2.55

  Henry Hub $2.53-$2.54 $2.62-$2.65

  Katy $2.48-$2.55 $2.50-$2.57

  SoCal $2.62-$2.65 $2.68-$2.7575

  Tex East M3 $1.30-$1.40 $1.25-$1.33

  Transco 65 $2.49-$2.53 $2.545-$2.575

  Transco Z6 $1.95-$2.25 $2.00-$2.15

  Waha $2.43-$2.50 $2.49-$2.53


Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwireshttp://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires">http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires
>

  (END) Dow Jones Newswires

  September 29, 2015 15:27 ET (19:27 GMT)

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

092915 19:27 -- GMT
------