DJ Natural Gas Snaps Six-Session Losing Streak
By Nicole Friedman
NEW YORK--Natural gas snapped a six-session losing streak Friday but held near recent lows on expectations that
above-average temperatures would limit demand for the heating fuel.
Natural gas for January delivery rose 5.4 cents, or 1.5%, to $3.703 a million British thermal units on the New York
Mercantile Exchange.
Prices have slumped this week as forecasts called for warmer-than-normal temperatures. Winter is typically the
strongest season for natural-gas demand, as half of U.S. households use gas as their primary heating fuel.
Weather forecasts were little changed Friday. But the coldest weather often comes in January and February, leaving
traders hesitant to bet on larger price declines before seeing how the rest of the winter will shape up, said Teri
Viswanath, director of commodity strategy for natural gas at BNP Paribas SA, in a note.
"Given just how far prices have fallen in a relatively compressed period of time, it appears that traders are
beginning to question further declines," Ms. Viswanath said. "Without verification of continued mild weather in
January, it appears that the sell-off has momentarily stalled."
Natural gas for next-day delivery at the benchmark Henry Hub in Louisiana recently traded at $3.4175/mmBtu, according
to Intercontinental Exchange Inc., versus Thursday's average of $3.5478/mmBtu.
Natural gas for next-day delivery at Transcontinental Zone 6 in New York traded between $3.15 and $3.50/mmBtu,
compared with $3.5345/mmBtu Thursday.
Write to Nicole Friedman at nicole.friedman@wsj.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 05, 2014 09:34 ET (14:34 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2014 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
120514 14:34 -- GMT
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