Dow Jones - Natural Gas Gives Up Gains On Cooler Weather Forecasts

DJ Natural Gas Gives up Gains on Cooler Weather Forecasts

By Nicole Friedman

     NEW YORK--Natural gas prices gave up early gains Wednesday as weather forecasts turned cooler, limiting demand
expectations.

     Natural gas use rises in summer when households and offices use more electricity to power air-conditioning units.
Forecasts released Wednesday morning called for hotter weather in Texas and the Southern U.S. than previously expected,
boosting prices. But closely watched midday updates to the forecast were less bullish, said Aaron Calder, analyst at
Gelber & Associates in Houston.

     "Noon updates took some heat out of the forecasts," Mr. Calder said in a note.

     Futures for September delivery settled down 1.4 cents, or 0.5%, at $2.798 a million British thermal units on the
New York Mercantile Exchange.

     Robust production has outweighed demand this summer, leaving natural-gas stockpiles at a surplus to the five-year
average.

     Inventory data for the week ended July 31 is due Thursday, and analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expect
the report to show natural-gas stockpiles grew by 43 billion cubic feet last week.

     If the storage estimate is correct, inventories as of July 31 will total 2.923 trillion cubic feet, 23% above the
year-ago level and 2.6% above the five-year average for the same week.

     "The market is justifiably concerned about a winter glut of natural gas, " Mr. Calder said.

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


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  (END) Dow Jones Newswires

  August 05, 2015 15:27 ET (19:27 GMT)

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080515 19:27 -- GMT
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