Dow Jones - Natural Gas Rallies To A New 6-Week High

DJ Natural Gas Rises to Six-Week High Ahead of Hotter Weather


   By Nicole Friedman


  NEW YORK--Natural-gas prices gained for a third straight session as forecasts for hotter weather drove expectations
of higher demand in the coming weeks.

  Natural gas for October delivery settled up 2.1 cents, or 0.5%, at $4.065 a million British thermal units on the New
York Mercantile Exchange, the highest price since July 16. Prices gained 4.7% this week and 5.8% this month.

  Forecasts are calling for a bout of late-summer heat in the southern and eastern U.S. heading into the first week of
September, which is expected to boost demand for gas-powered electricity to run air-conditioning units.

  "Weather patterns have been more favorable recently" to natural-gas demand, said NatGasWeather.com in a note, but
"the end of summer is upon us. ...Prices are not looking too far into the future."

  Storage data released Thursday showed that stockpiles grew by 75 billion cubic feet in the week ended Aug. 22, less
than the 77 bcf that analysts had expected.

  Inventories, which were depleted by record demand for the heating fuel last winter, are still 17% below the five-year
average for the week.

  Natural-gas production in the lower 48 states grew by 0.6% in June from the prior month, a smaller pace of growth
than the 1.2% gain seen in May, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Friday.

   FUTURES           SETTLEMENT           NET CHANGE
   Nymex October     $4.065               +2.1c
   Nymex November    $4.116               +1.5c
   Nymex December    $4.197               +1.1c

   CASH HUB          RANGE                PREVIOUS DAY
   El Paso Perm      $3.895-$3.94         $3.84-$3.90
   El Paso SJ        $3.8825-$3.93        $3.92-$3.95
   Henry Hub         $3.99-$4.08          $3.99-$4.0375
   Katy              $3.99-$4.05          $3.97-$4.01
   SoCal             $4.13-$4.20          $4.12-$4.28
   Tex East M3       $2.335-$2.56         $1.80-$2.20
   Transco 65        $3.9725-$4.075       $3.97-$4.015
   Transco Z6        $2.44-$2.55          $1.85-$2.07
   Waha              $3.94-$3.995         $3.90-$3.955


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


Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwireshttp://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires">http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires
>

  (END) Dow Jones Newswires

  August 29, 2014 15:12 ET (19:12 GMT)

  Copyright (c) 2014 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

082914 19:12 -- GMT
------