Dow Jones - End of Day Natural Gas Commentary

DJ Natural Gas Weakens, Demand Expected to Stay Moderate


   By Nicole Friedman


  NEW YORK--Natural-gas futures slipped Tuesday as moderate weather appeared unlikely to induce much demand for
air-conditioning or indoor heating in the coming weeks.

  Natural gas for October delivery settled down 3.4 cents, or 0.9%, at $3.816 a million British thermal units on the
New York Mercantile Exchange.

  Natural-gas prices have stayed fairly subdued in recent months as a mild summer has kept demand for air-conditioning
low, reducing the need for gas-powered electricity. And winter demand for natural gas as a heating fuel has yet to kick
in.

  "The short-term temperature views still appear more conducive toward $3.75 pricing rather than $3.90," said
energy-advisory firm Ritterbusch & Associates in a note.

  Meanwhile, natural-gas production has been robust, calming some earlier fears that stockpiles would stay severely low
after supplies were depleted by a frigid winter. Inventories have replenished much more quickly than expected, and as
of Sept. 12 they stood just 13% below the five-year average for the week.

  Morgan Stanley cut its 2015 forecast for natural-gas prices to $3.50/mmBtu from $4, citing "relentless supply
growth."

  The EIA will release its storage data for the week ended Sept. 19 on Thursday.

   FUTURES           SETTLEMENT           NET CHANGE
   Nymex October     $3.816               -3.4c
   Nymex November    $3.869               -3.9c
   Nymex December    $3.960               -3.4c

   CASH HUB          RANGE                PREVIOUS DAY
   El Paso Perm      $3.82-$3.96          $3.8575-$3.96
   El Paso SJ        $3.85-$3.915         $3.92-$3.96
   Henry Hub         $3.875-$3.93         $3.85-$3.895
   Katy              $3.875-$3.935        $3.86-$3.91
   SoCal             $4.07-$4.25          $4.09-$4.24
   Tex East M3       $1.92-$2.075         $2.02-$2.23
   Transco 65        $3.86-$3.8875        $3.83-$3.87
   Transco Z6        $1.95-$2.05          $2.04-$2.12
   Waha              $3.87-$3.90          $3.86-$3.925


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


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  (END) Dow Jones Newswires

  September 23, 2014 15:22 ET (19:22 GMT)

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

092314 19:22 -- GMT
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