Dow Jones - Natural Gas Nears 8-Week High On Forecasts of Hot Weather

DJ Natural Gas Nears Eight-Week High on Forecasts of Hot Weather



  By Timothy Puko


  Natural gas prices rose to a near eight-week high on Wednesday, as weather reports continue to show large patches of
above-normal temperatures for the second half of July.

  Natural gas for August delivery gained 7.8 cents, or 2.8%, to $2.918 a million British thermal units on the New York
Mercantile Exchange. It was the highest settlement since May 21.

  The summer heat is likely to result in more demand for gas-fired power to run air conditioners. Recent forecasts
predicted above-normal temperatures spreading in the next two weeks across large parts of the country, especially in
the Southeast. Forecasts from MDA Weather Services show the most heat, with temperatures 1 to 5 degrees Fahrenheit
above normal for nearly the entire country from July 25-29.

  However, Wednesday's rally was capped by concerns that the hot temperatures won't be extreme and may not last long
enough to outweigh near-record gas production, analysts and traders said.

  "We always do this. We get really excited about the heat--until there isn't any," said Teri Viswanath, a natural-gas
strategist at BNP Paribas SA in New York.

  The 90-day forecast WeatherBELL Analytics LLC issued Wednesday suggested that the heat won't last, with most of the
country at normal or 1-degree-below-normal temperatures for the period. Slightly above-normal temperatures are likely
to hug the East Coast and cover parts of the West, according to WeatherBELL.

FUTURES SETTLEMENT NET CHANGE
Nymex August $2.918 +7.8c
Nymex September $2.909 +7.0c
Nymex October $2.931 +6.5c

CASH HUB RANGE PREVIOUS SESSION
El Paso Perm $2.82-$2.90 $2.8425 - $2.9175
El Paso SJ $2.8675-2.9000 $2.86 - $2.92
Henry Hub $2.9000-$2.9575 $2.89 - $2.9675
Katy $2.86-$2.88 $2.88 - $2.93
SoCal $3.01-$3.05 $2.98 - $3.075
Tex East M3 $1.24-$1.40 $1.27 - $1.34
Transco 65 $2.895-$2.920 $2.8725 - $2.965
Transco Z6 $1.50-$2.00 $1.80 - $2.10
Waha $2.84-$2.87 $2.87 - $2.90


  Write to Timothy Puko at tim.puko@wsj.com


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  (END) Dow Jones Newswires

  July 15, 2015 15:10 ET (19:10 GMT)

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

071515 19:10 -- GMT
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