Dow Jones - Natural Gas Rises Again On Colder Weather Forecasts

DJ Natural Gas Rises Again on Colder Weather Forecasts



  By Timothy Puko


  Natural-gas prices rose for a sixth straight session Wednesday as cooler weather forecasts suggest
stronger-than-expected demand is on the way in early February.

  Futures for February delivery settled up 0.9 cent, or 0.4%, at $2.189 a million British thermal units on the New York
Mercantile Exchange. The February contract expired at settlement. The more-actively traded March contract fell 0.1
cent, or 0.1%, to $2.157/mmBtu.

  Some weather forecasts show a deeper, broader shot of cold coming in the Rockies and Plains next week and through to
the East the following week. About half of all U.S. homes use natural gas for heat, making cold weather a big driver
for demand that often sense prices higher.

  But some forecasts also show far-above-average temperatures sporadically hitting key East Coast markets for gas heat
in early February. Stockpiles are also far above normal and could hit a record high for the end of winter, capping
rallies, analysts said.

  "The market continues to approach bouts of cold weather with a high degree of caution as supply and inventory levels
are more than adequate to easily meet any cold winter...demand," said Dominick Chirichella, analyst at the Energy
Management Institute.

  Natural-gas supplies stood 17% above their five-year average for this time of year as of Jan. 15, according to the
Energy Information Administration. The EIA is due to release its data for the week ended Jan. 22 on Thursday.

  Analysts and traders surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expect the EIA to report that inventories fell by 205
billion cubic feet last week, more than the average level for this time of year.

  If the storage estimate is correct, inventories as of Jan. 22 totaled 3.1 trillion cubic feet, 21% above levels from
a year ago and 17% above the five-year average for the same week.


  --Nicole Friedman contributed to this article

   FUTURES SETTLEMENT  NET    CHANGE
   Nymex February     $2.189   +0.9c
   Nymex March        $2.157   -0.1c
   Nymex April        $2.231   -1.0c

   CASH HUB         RANGE        PREVIOUS SESSION
   El Paso Perm  $2.1075-$2.14    $2.1225-$2.16
   El Paso SJ    $2.13-$2.15      $2.14-$2.17
   Henry Hub     $2.19-$2.25      $2.205-$2.245
   Katy          $2.155-$2.225    $2.165-$2.21
   SoCal         $2.23-$2.28      $2.28-$2.305
   Tex East M3   $1.73-$1.80      $1.78-$2.20
   Transco 65    $2.19-$2.295     $2.225-$2.25
   Transco Z6    $2.35-$2.44      $2.42-$2.55
   Waha          $2.11-$2.15      $2.15-$2.16


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


  (END) Dow Jones Newswires

  January 27, 2016 14:54 ET (19:54 GMT)

  Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

012716 19:54 -- GMT
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