Dow Jones - Natural Gas Edges Back From Recent Gains

DJ Natural Gas Edges Back From Recent Gains


   By Christian Berthelsen


  Natural gas prices edged back Friday, on track to end a three-day rally, as expectations for gas-fired heating demand
wavered in the waning days of winter.

  Natural gas futures for April delivery were down 0.9% at $1.9180 a million British thermal units on the New York
Mercantile Exchange. Gas prices have slumped more than 30% in the last year amid surging supply and weak demand from a
mild winter, though they have rebounded strongly in recent weeks from a 17-year low.

  Fundamentals in the market remain bearish, with the U.S. Energy Department saying Thursday that domestic inventories
fell just 1 billion cubic feet last week, a winter week when stockpiles usually decline by more than 80 bcf. The
nation's supplies are 48% higher than average for this time of year.

  Forecasts in recent weeks have called for an early end to winter, with temperatures well above normal in most parts
of the country. But that has begun to shift in recent days with variability coming into the picture, including more
cold than previously expected in the Midwest and more heat on the eastern seaboard.

  "Cooler temperature views are now being generally expected across the final week of this month," research consultancy
Ritterbusch and Associates said in a note.

  In physical markets, cash prices for next-day delivery at the benchmark Henry Hub in Louisiana last traded at $1.84 a
million Btus, above Thursday's range of $1.775-$1.83. Prices at the Transco Z6 hub in New York last traded at $2,
compared with Thursday's range of $1.35-$1.50.


  Write to Christian Berthelsen at christian.berthelsen@wsj.com


  (END) Dow Jones Newswires

  March 18, 2016 11:07 ET (15:07 GMT)

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

031816 15:07 -- GMT
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