DJ Natural Gas Fizzles as Temperature Outlooks Moderate
By Christian Berthelsen
Natural gas prices slipped Friday, extending a second day of losses as uneven weather forecasts raised doubts
about a predicted burst of below-normal temperatures over much of the U.S. that was expected to drive demand for
gas-fired heating.
The front-month February contract for natural gas was down 12.2 cents, or 4%, at $3.0360 a million British thermal
units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gas futures lost ground Thursday after two days of robust gains on forecasts
predicting frigid weather through the end of January.
But forecasters began to alter prior outlooks for the extreme cold, with a previously expected swell of much-below
normal temperatures over most of the U.S. beginning to recede.
"The massive colder shift that started midday on Tuesday and persisted into Wednesday started to crack somewhat
(Thursday) and again overnight, " Commodity Weather Group said.
In weekly supply data released Thursday, natural gas inventories fell much more than expected, a nominally bullish
factor for the market. But thanks to robust ongoing U.S. production, inventories remain stable, rising compared with
year-ago levels and falling only marginally against the long-term average.
"Bigger picture fundamentals remain soft," research consultancy Schneider Electric said in a note.
In the physical market, cash prices for next-day gas at the benchmark Henry Hub in Louisiana last traded at
$3.0775, below Thursday's range of $3.24-$3.32 a million Btus. Cash prices at the Transco Z6 hub in New York traded in
a bid-offer range of $3.15-$6.00, compared with Thursday's range of $6.00-$7.25.
Write to Christian Berthelsen at christian.berthelsen@wsj.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 16, 2015 09:55 ET (14:55 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
011615 14:55 -- GMT
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