Dow Jones - Natural Gas Eases Ahead of Inventory Data

DJ Natural Gas Eases Ahead of Inventory Data


   By Nicole Friedman


  NEW YORK--Natural-gas prices fell Thursday ahead of weekly inventory data, which is expected to show that stockpiles
rose last week by more than is typical for this time of year.

  Natural gas futures for October delivery recently fell 0.9 cent, or 0.4%, to $2.56 a million British thermal units on
the New York Mercantile Exchange.

  Robust production has pushed the natural gas market in oversupply this summer despite strong demand for gas-powered
electricity to run air-conditioning units.

  Analysts and traders are expecting the U.S. Energy Information Administration's weekly update on stockpiles to show
the largest addition in 10 weeks. Due on Thursday at 10:30 a.m., it is likely to show an addition of 97 billion cubic
feet for the week ended Friday, according to a Wall Street Journal survey of 20 analysts and traders.

  If the storage estimate is correct, inventories as of Sept. 18 totaled 3.4 trillion cubic feet. That is 15% above
levels from a year ago and 4.2% above the five-year average for the same week.

  Analysts expect injections to remain large as summertime demand continues to fade.

  "We have now tumbled into fall," said Matt Smith, director of commodity research at ClipperData, in a blog post.
"This morning's natural gas storage report is expected to yield an injection well above the 5-year average of 83 Bcf,
and weather forecasts point to further solid injections in the weeks to come."


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


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  (END) Dow Jones Newswires

  September 24, 2015 10:01 ET (14:01 GMT)

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092415 14:01 -- GMT
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