DJ Natural Gas Rises on Hotter Forecasts
By Timothy Puko
Natural gas prices gained Wednesday for a third-straight session, trading at nearly a three-week high, as forecasts
for hot weather boosted expectations demand that were already high.
Natural-gas futures for September delivery recently gained 4.8 cents, or 1.7%, to $2.892 a million British thermal
units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The boost puts gas at the high end of a 31-cent range it has traded in since
June 9.
Natural gas use rises in the summer when households and offices use more electricity to power air-conditioning units.
Texas, where temperatures climbed above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, has already seen record demand for power in recent
days, according to trade publications that track demand and prices.
Commodity Weather Group LLC on Wednesday reported a third-straight day of warmer forecasts. It added more severe
warmth more than five-degrees-Fahrenheit above normal for next week from Pittsburgh and Washington up through Boston
and Maine.
"The main...catalyst has been more supportive short term temperature forecasts," Dominick Chirichella, analyst at the
Energy Management Institute, said in a note.
He added that the shutdown of Alliance Pipeline LP's major link from Canada, carrying 1.6 billion cubic feet a day,
also has supported prices. The company said Tuesday that it expected to restart the pipeline by Thursday. Officials
couldn't immediately be reached for an update.
Physical gas for next-day delivery at the Henry Hub in Louisiana last traded at $2.91/mmBtu, compared with Tuesday's
range of $2.835-$2.855. Cash prices at the Transco Z6 hub in New York last traded at $2.725/mmBtu, compared with
Tuesday's range of $2.40-$2.79.
Write to Timothy Puko at tim.puko@wsj.com
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(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
August 12, 2015 12:19 ET (16:19 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
081215 16:19 -- GMT
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