DJ Natural-Gas Rising Ahead of Stockpile Update
By Timothy Puko
NEW YORK--Natural-gas prices are rising Thursday as traders position themselves for a weekly update on stockpiles.
Natural gas for October delivery is up 2.5 cents, or 0.7%, at $3.872 a million British thermal units on the New York
Mercantile Exchange. The front-month contract has stayed within a 4.5-cent trading range during this session.
Trading often stays calm on Thursdays ahead of the federal government's weekly report on natural gas stockpiles. The
U.S. Energy Information Administration releases the update at 10:30 a.m. ET.
After the market lost 5.4% over two sessions, short-sellers who bet the price would fall are likely buying back in to
close out their position and take profits before the data release can spur a new trading trend, analysts said.
"This market is seeing some usual pre-EIA report price consolidation within a tight range," Jim Ritterbusch,
president of energy-advisory firm Ritterbusch & Associates, said in a note. "We feel that this week's large price drop
of around 5% has essentially brought this year's cooling season to an end thereby forcing the market to focus more
intently on supply side factors that are still being highlighted by a record pace of production."
Producers likely added 73 billion cubic feet of gas to stockpiles last week, nearly a third more than the usual
addition for that time of year, according to the average forecast of 19 analysts, brokers and traders surveyed
Wednesday by The Wall Street Journal. That would bring stockpiles within 16% of their five-year average level for this
time of year, compared to a deficit had been more than 50% to start the spring, according to data from the U.S. Energy
Information Administration.
Physical gas for next-day delivery at the Henry Hub in Louisiana last traded at $3.91/mmBtu, compared with
Wednesday's range of $3.91-$3.955. Cash prices at the Transco Z6 hub in New York last traded at $2.74/mmBtu, compared
with Wednesday's range of $3.04 to $3.15.
Write to Timothy Puko at tim.puko@wsj.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 04, 2014 10:09 ET (14:09 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2014 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
090414 14:09 -- GMT
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