Dow Jones - Natural Gas Drops Ahead of Inventory Data

DJ Natural Gas Drops Ahead of Inventory Data


   By Nicole Friedman


  NEW YORK--Natural gas futures fell Wednesday as traders assessed whether colder-than-average weather in the next two
weeks would limit the oversupply of natural gas.

  Natural-gas inventories stand 47% above the five-year average for this time of year due to ample production and
sluggish demand for indoor-heating during a moderate winter.

  The Energy Information Administration is due to release inventory data for the week ended May 6 on Thursday.

  Natural-gas stockpiles typically shrink during the high-demand winter season and grow between April and October, and
analysts say inventories could grow to record levels by the end of the injection season.

  But cold temperatures in the next two weeks could spur more heating demand, limiting new injections into storage,
analysts say.

  Natural gas futures for June delivery recently fell 3.2 cents, or 1.5%, to $2.126 a million British thermal units on
the New York Mercantile Exchange.


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


  (END) Dow Jones Newswires

  May 11, 2016 10:00 ET (14:00 GMT)

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

051116 14:00 -- GMT
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