Natural Gas Pounded - Market Loses 3.6%

DJ Natural Gas Posts Biggest Losses Since Mid-July on Suspect Demand


   By Timothy Puko


  NEW YORK--Natural-gas prices closed with their biggest losses in nearly a
month as weather forecasts show a quick end for a coming hot spell.

  The front-month September contract settled down 14.3 cents, or 3.6%, at
$3.831 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It
was the biggest loss since July 17 and erased nearly two weeks of gradual
gains.

  Weather forecasts are showing a greater likelihood that rain and a cooling
front from Canada will limit a heat wave likely to hit most of the country next
week. Heat causes people to turn on air conditioning and use more gas-fired
electricity, and with the peak season for that demand nearly over, it would
take a heat wave with a lot more staying power to get buyers into the market,
analysts and brokers said.

  The drop came suddenly as gas owners with extra inventory realized this may
be their best chance to sell before the summer ends, said Todd Gross, chief
investment officer at QERI LLC. Record production has already caused a 20%
price decline in one month earlier this summer, leading many to be skeptical
about how well demand can keep up in a summer that's ultimately mild.

  "It turns out it's not quite as hot, not quite as extreme as some people
think. So when that happens, it kind of turns on a dime," Mr. Gross said.


  Write to Timothy Puko at tim.puko@wsj.com


  (MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires

  August 13, 2014 15:08 ET (19:08 GMT)

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

081314 19:08 -- GMT
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