Dow Jones - Natural Gas Slips Ahead of Inventory Report

DJ Natural Gas Slips Ahead of Inventory Report


By Nicole Friedman


  NEW YORK--Natural-gas prices declined Thursday ahead of a weekly inventory report that is expected to show that the
surplus of natural-gas supplies persisted last week.

  Futures for September delivery recently fell 5.1 cents, or 1.8%, to $2.813 a million British thermal units on the New
York Mercantile Exchange.

  The U.S. Energy Information Administration is set to release inventory data for the week ended July 24 at 10:30 a.m.
EDT. Analysts and traders surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expect the agency to report that natural-gas stockpiles
grew by 54 billion cubic feet last week, more than the 48-bcf five-year average build for that week.

  If the storage estimate is correct, inventories as of July 24 will total 2.882 trillion cubic feet, 26% above the
year-ago level and 3.1% above the five-year average for the same week.

  Prices gained for three straight sessions through Wednesday on expectations that above-normal temperatures would
spark additional demand for gas-powered electricity to run air conditioners. But traders are already looking ahead to
fall, when weather-driven demand typically fades and production is expected to remain robust.

  "A supply surplus against normal levels has been established this summer and is likely to be maintained, with the
benefit of year-over-year production gains," said energy-advisory firm Ritterbusch & Associates in a note.

  In physical gas markets, cash prices for next-day delivery at the benchmark Henry Hub last traded at $2.8625 a
million Btus, above Wednesday's range of $2.845-$2.9125. Prices at the Transco Z6 hub in New York last traded at $2.89a
million Btus, within Wednesday's range of $2.95-$3.04.


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


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  (END) Dow Jones Newswires

  July 30, 2015 09:56 ET (13:56 GMT)

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

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