Dow Jones - Natural Gas Gains Ahead Of Inventory Data

DJ Natural Gas Gains Ahead of Inventory Data



  By Nicole Friedman


  NEW YORK--Natural-gas futures rose for a fifth-straight session Thursday as traders bet that the 17-year price lows
reached last week would encourage lower production and new demand.

  Futures for April delivery recently rose 3.1 cents, or 1.8%, to $1.783 a million British thermal units on the New
York Mercantile Exchange.

  Prices plunged last week to their lowest level since 1999 on concerns that the glut of natural gas would hit record
levels by the end of the summer. Tepid demand and robust production have pushed natural-gas stockpiles above average
levels for this time of year.

  Market watchers expect the ultralow prices seen last week to spur producers to cut back further on drilling and to
incite new consumption.

  However, the surplus of natural gas is expected to continue to grow, and some analysts say the price rally could soon
end.

  The Energy Information Administration is due to release its inventory data at 10:30 a.m. ET for the week ended March
4. Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expect the agency to report that stockpiles fell by 58 billion cubic
feet in the week, less than the average withdrawal for this time of year.

  That would put stockpiles at 2.5 trillion cubic feet, 58% above levels from a year ago and 41% above the five-year
average for the same week.

  Physical gas for next-day delivery at the Henry Hub in Louisiana last traded at $1.695/mmBtu, compared with
Wednesday's range of $1.555-$1.60. Cash prices at the Transco Z6 hub in New York last traded between $1 and
$1.15/mmBtu, compared with Wednesday's range of $0.97-$1.02.


  Write to Nicole Friedman at nicole.friedman@wsj.com


  (END) Dow Jones Newswires

  March 10, 2016 09:29 ET (14:29 GMT)

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

031016 14:29 -- GMT
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