Dow Jones Natural Gas - Slump Continues

DJ Natural Gas Prices Continue Slump



  By Nicole Friedman


  NEW YORK--Natural-gas prices fell for a fifth-straight day Tuesday on expectations that mild temperatures would
continue to limit demand for the heating fuel.

  Futures for March delivery recently fell 2.3 cents, or 0.9%, to $2.657 a million British thermal units, on track to
settle at a fresh more-than-two-year low.

  Prices have slid in recent weeks as robust supply growth has outweighed tepid demand. Natural-gas consumption is
usually strongest in the winter, because half of U.S. households use natural gas as their primary heating fuel, but
this winter's temperatures have kept demand subdued.

  While forecasts are calling for colder-than-average weather in the eastern U.S. this week, temperatures are expected
to moderate in the next 11 to 15 days.

  "Everywhere except the Northeast is to see normal to below-normal heating demand this week, while absolute
temperatures begin to clamber higher as we move away from the peak of the bleak mid-winter,"  Matt Smith, commodity
analyst at Schneider Electric SA (SU.FR), an energy-consulting firm, said in a note.

  Analysts on Monday noted that federal updates from late last week confirmed that producers set another record in
November. Production increased 0.9% to nearly 82 billion cubic feet a day in the lower 48 states, according to the U.S.
Energy Information Administration.

  Physical gas for next-day delivery at the Henry Hub in Louisiana last traded at $2.76/mmBtu, compared with Monday's
range of $2.55-$2.68. Cash prices at the Transco Z6 hub in New York traded in a bid-ask range of $3.80/mmBtu to
$4.50/mmBtu, compared with Monday's range of $8.50 to $9.50.


  --Timothy Puko contributed to this article


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


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  (END) Dow Jones Newswires

  February 03, 2015 09:56 ET (14:56 GMT)

  Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

020315 14:56 -- GMT
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