Dow Jones - Natural Gas Edges Lower As Demand Expectations Shift

DJ Natural Gas Edges Lower as Demand Expectations Shift

  By Christian Berthelsen

  Natural gas drifted down Monday as weather forecasts limited expectations for gas-fired heating or cooling demand,
with mild spring temperatures prevailing over much of the country.

  Natural gas futures ended the day 0.1% lower at $2.098 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile
Exchange.

  Natural gas is a key fuel source in home heating and power generation, and demand picks up when temperatures reach
extremes. But the mild start to spring has crimped demand for both, with little need for heating or air conditioning.

  Updated forecasts show U.S. temperatures remaining normal for the most part into late May, with no apparent ramp-up
to summer-like heat on the horizon. A below-normal cool patch is expected to hover over the Midwest in the middle of
the month.

  "Obviously, supply and offtake are relatively balanced at current price levels with the weather factor providing
limited guidance," research consultancy Ritterbusch and Associates said in a note.

  Data released Friday by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission shows speculators growing increasingly bearish
on the market as it pulls back from a bull run that lasted into late April.

  Recent production declines have helped reduce the huge oversupply of stored natural gas supplies, but after a tepid
winter that limited heating demand, stockpiles remain 47% higher than average for this time of year.


  (END) Dow Jones Newswires

  May 09, 2016 15:36 ET (19:36 GMT)

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

050916 19:36 -- GMT
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