Dow Jones - Natural Gas Falls As Mild Weather Forecasts Get Even Milder

DJ Natural Gas Falls As Mild Weather Forecasts Get Even Milder

  By Timothy Puko

  Natural gas was falling again Friday, threatening to settle below the $2 mark for the first time in three years as
mild forecasts for December get even milder and expectations for heating demand fall even more.

  Futures for January delivery recently traded down 1.7 cents, or 0.8%, at $2.045 a million British thermal units on
the New York Mercantile Exchange. They set a fresh three-year low settlement Thursday and are within 3 cents of the
intraday low they set in October.

  Weather updates Friday show the above-normal temperatures spreading even further. Temperatures across the East and in
most of the country's biggest markets for natural-gas heating will be more than 15 degrees above normal through
Tuesday, said MDA Weather Services and Commodity Weather Group LLC. Winter heating demand is usually the biggest driver
for gas consumption and prices, but MDA has been projecting this December as one of the warmest five on record.

  Many traders and analysts have been caught off guard by how far gas has fallen. But with stockpiles still near a
record of 4 trillion cubic feet and forecasts suggesting the unseasonable warmth could last through January, there is
little urgency to buy now or expect prices to shoot higher.

  The warm weather also is helping push heating oil to lows unseen in six years. And prices for both oil and coal have
been plummeting, suggesting energy is cheap across the board and likely to remain so. That makes this season different
and seemingly unlikely to repeat patterns from past years when gas prices rebounded after dipping below $2/mmBtu, said
Scott Gettleman, an independent trader in New York.

  "The whole energy complex is getting destroyed," he said. "It's the middle of December here and I'm not even wearing
a jacket."

  Physical gas for next-day delivery at the Henry Hub in Louisiana last traded at $1.73/mmBtu, compared with Thursday's
range of $1.85-$1.96.

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

  (END) Dow Jones Newswires

  December 11, 2015 11:24 ET (16:24 GMT)

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

121115 16:24 -- GMT

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  By Timothy Puko

  Natural gas was falling again Friday, threatening to settle below the $2 mark for the first time in three years as
mild forecasts for December get even milder and expectations for heating demand fall even more.

  Futures for January delivery recently traded down 1.7 cents, or 0.8%, at $2.045 a million British thermal units on
the New York Mercantile Exchange. They set a fresh three-year low settlement Thursday and are within 3 cents of the
intraday low they set in October.

  Weather updates Friday show the above-normal temperatures spreading even further. Temperatures across the East and in
most of the country's biggest markets for natural-gas heating will be more than 15 degrees above normal through
Tuesday, said MDA Weather Services and Commodity Weather Group LLC. Winter heating demand is usually the biggest driver
for gas consumption and prices, but MDA has been projecting this December as one of the warmest five on record.

  Many traders and analysts have been caught off guard by how far gas has fallen. But with stockpiles still near a
record of 4 trillion cubic feet and forecasts suggesting the unseasonable warmth could last through January, there is
little urgency to buy now or expect prices to shoot higher.

  The warm weather also is helping push heating oil to lows unseen in six years. And prices for both oil and coal have
been plummeting, suggesting energy is cheap across the board and likely to remain so. That makes this season different
and seemingly unlikely to repeat patterns from past years when gas prices rebounded after dipping below $2/mmBtu, said
Scott Gettleman, an independent trader in New York.

  "The whole energy complex is getting destroyed," he said. "It's the middle of December here and I'm not even wearing
a jacket."

  Physical gas for next-day delivery at the Henry Hub in Louisiana last traded at $1.73/mmBtu, compared with Thursday's
range of $1.85-$1.96. Cash prices at the Transco Z6 hub in New York last traded at $0.85/mmBtu, compared with
Thursday's range of $1.24-$1.50.

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

  (END) Dow Jones Newswires

  December 11, 2015 12:16 ET (17:16 GMT)

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

121115 17:16 -- GMT