Natural gas futures rally to 4-week high in thin holiday trade
Investing.com
Published May 27, 2013 10:38AM ET
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in July traded at USD4.347 per million British thermal units during U.S. morning trade, up 1.45% on the day.
Nymex natural gas prices rose by as much as 1.7% earlier in the day to hit a session high of USD4.358 per million British thermal units, the strongest level since May 2.
Trading volumes are expected to remain light as Nymex floor trading will remain closed for Memorial Day.
Natural gas futures have been well-supported in recent sessions, climbing almost 10% over the past two weeks, as updated weather forecasting models pointed to a wider swath of above-normal temperatures across most parts of the U.S., boosting near-term cooling demand expectations.
According to weather service provider Accuweather, the high in New York City on May 31 may be 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 Celsius), 11 degrees above normal.
Demand for natural gas tends to rise in the summer months as warmer temperatures increase the need for gas-fired electricity to power air conditioning.
U.S. supply levels also remained in focus. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said last week that natural gas storage in the U.S. rose by 89 billion cubic feet, below expectations for an increase of 91 billion cubic feet.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 2.053 trillion cubic feet as of last week, 3.9% below the five-year average for this time of year.
Early injection estimates for this week’s storage data range from 80 billion cubic feet to 103 billion cubic feet, compared to a 72 billion cubic feet increase during the same week a year earlier.
The five-year average for the week is a build of 92 billion cubic feet.
Elsewhere on the NYMEX, light sweet crude oil futures for delivery in July shed 0.6% to trade at USD93.58 a barrel, while heating oil for July delivery dipped 0.1% to trade at USD2.851 per gallon.
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Written By: Investing.com
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