DJ Natural Gas on Third-Straight Losing Session Thanks to Warm December
By Timothy Puko
Natural gas is extending its losses to a third-straight session as warm December weather forecasts continue to
pressure the market.
Natural gas for January delivery is down 8.6 cents, or 2.2%, at $3.921 a million British thermal units on the New
York Mercantile Exchange. The large move also extends a volatile run for the market. Natural gas has moved by at least
1.7% up or down every session since Nov. 14.
There is a lot of uncertainty with the depths of winter still to come, said Kyle Cooper, managing director of
research at IAF Advisors, a Houston consulting firm. Half of U.S. homes use natural gas heat, and prices could
skyrocket if heating demand spikes. But, if the winter isn't cold and heating demand doesn't spike, record U.S. gas
production could cause prices to collapse.
And traders have been thinking about the possibility of a price collapse in recent days. Weather forecasters are
predicting widespread above-average temperatures through mid-December.
"If you have this weather continue through the end of December and January, then $3.90 is way too high," Mr. Cooper
said. "You don't have a whole lot of liquidity either, so it's probably not taking much to drive it lower."
Physical gas for next-day delivery at the Henry Hub in Louisiana last traded at $3.74/mmBtu, compared with Monday's
range of $3.805-$3.95. Cash prices at the Transco Z6 hub in New York last traded at $3.49/mmBtu, compared with Monday's
range of $3.60 to $3.85.
Write to Timothy Puko at tim.puko@wsj.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 02, 2014 10:13 ET (15:13 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2014 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
120214 15:13 -- GMT
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