Natural Gas Futures Slide to 2-Month Lows Amid Lull in Demand
Investing.com
Published Oct 09, 2017 08:35AM ET
Natural gas futures slide to 2-month lows
Investing.com - U.S. natural gas futures started the week on a downbeat note on Monday, with prices sliding to their lowest level in around two months, as traders reacted to the reality that higher demand for the commodity was coming to an end.
U.S. natural gas for November delivery fell to $2.835 per million British thermal units at one point, its lowest since Aug. 9, before crawling back to $2.867 by 8:35AM ET (1235GMT), little changed on the day.
Futures saw a drop of nearly 5% last week as weather forecasting models predicted mild temperatures that should limit demand for the heating fuel in the coming days.
The eastern part of the U.S. will warm back into the 70s and 80s Fahrenheit through Oct. 14, as high pressure returns. The West Coast will be mild to warm, while very warm to hot over the southern U.S., according to NatGasWeather.com.
Bearish speculators are betting on the warm weather reducing early-winter demand for the heating fuel.
Gas futures often reach a seasonal low in October, when mild weather reduces demand, before recovering in the winter, when heating-fuel use peaks.
Total natural gas in storage currently stands at 3.508 trillion cubic feet, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, around 4.3% lower than levels at this time a year ago and 0.2% below the five-year average for this time of year.
Market participants looked ahead to weekly storage data due on Thursday, which is expected to show a build in a range between 84 and 94 billion cubic feet in the week ended October 6.
That compares with a gain of 42 billion cubic feet in the preceding week, a build of 79 billion a year earlier and a five-year average rise of 87 billion cubic feet.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Investing.com
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.