Dow Jones Natural Gas - End of Day Commentary

DJ Natural Gas Prices Gain on Weather Outlook


   By Nicole Friedman


  Natural-gas prices climbed to a two-week high Wednesday on expectations that colder-than-average weather in the next
two weeks would increase demand for the heating fuel.

  Natural-gas futures for March delivery settled up 12 cents, or 4.5%, at $2.797 a million British thermal units on the
New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settlement since Jan. 28.

  About half of U.S. households use natural gas as their primary heating fuel. This winter, ample supplies and moderate
weather have kept prices for the fuel relatively subdued.

  Weather forecasts released Wednesday showed an "intense surge of cold" in the Midwest and East Coast this weekend,
followed by "another very significant cold outbreak" later next week, according to Bethesda, Md.-based forecaster
Commodity Weather Group LLC.

  "These forecasts are bullish," said Aaron Calder, senior market analyst at Gelber & Associates in Houston, in a note.
"The upcoming cold snap will keep [storage] withdrawals large throughout the month."

  Natural-gas supplies, which were drawn down to 11-year lows at the end of last winter, have been nearly fully
replenished.

  Analysts and traders expect the U.S. Energy Information Administration to report Thursday that stockpiles fell by 170
billion cubic feet in the week ended Feb. 6. The five-year average draw for the week is 178 bcf.

  If the storage estimate is correct, inventories as of Feb. 6 will total 2.258 trillion cubic feet, 31% above the
year-ago level and 0.9% below the five-year average for the same week.

FUTURES          SETTLEMENT   NET CHANGE
Nymex March       $2.797        +12.0c
Nymex April       $2.814        +11.0c
Nymex May         $2.849        +10.0c

CASH HUB           RANGE        PREVIOUS SESSION
El Paso Perm    $2.45-$2.66       $2.33-$2.38
El Paso SJ      $2.55-$2.64       $2.34-$2.39
Henry Hub       $2.82-$2.875      $2.60-$2.685
Katy            $2.65-$2.75       $2.52-$2.575
SoCal           $2.68-$2.75      $2.465-$2.49
Tex East M3     $8.00-$12.00      $3.75-$4.35
Transco 65      $2.75-$2.865      $2.67-$2.69
Transco Z6     $15.00-$15.00     $13.50-$15.00
Waha            $2.65-$2.70       $2.44-$2.45


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


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  (END) Dow Jones Newswires

  February 11, 2015 15:02 ET (20:02 GMT)

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021115 20:02 -- GMT