DJ Natural Gas Falls on Demand Expectations
By Nicole Friedman
NEW YORK--Natural gas futures fell to fresh one-month lows Wednesday as continued mild weather forecasts reduced
demand expectations.
Futures for June delivery recently fell 1 cent, or 0.5%, to $1.97 a million British thermal units, on track for the
lowest settlement since mid-April.
Sluggish demand and continued robust supply have kept the natural-gas market oversupplied this year and weighed on
prices. As of May 13, stockpiles stood 41% above five-year average levels for the time of year. Inventory data for the
week ended May 20 is due Thursday.
Moderate temperatures in the next two weeks are expected to limit demand for natural gas as an indoor-heating fuel or
as a power-generation fuel. Power demand typically rises during hot weather as consumers run air-conditioning units.
Some analysts warn that stockpiles could exceed available storage capacity later this year unless prices stay low to
encourage more demand.
"The market is maintaining a perception that storage injections will need to be downsized via a low-pricing
environment during the next 4-5 months if a challenge to estimated capacity ...is to be avoided next fall," said
energy-advisory firm Ritterbusch & Associates in a note.
Write to Nicole Friedman at nicole.friedman@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 25, 2016 10:34 ET (14:34 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
052516 14:34 -- GMT
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