Natural gas gains on forecasts for late-season cool snap
Published May 17, 2013 01:08PM ET
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in June traded at USD3.963 per million British thermal units, up 0.80%.
The commodity hit a session low of USD3.914 and a high of USD3.977.
Prices rose on talk of cooler temperatures sweeping across parts of the eastern U.S. though gains were somewhat muted, as milder temperatures were expected to quickly return.
Milder weather tends to send gas prices falling, while colder and hotter temperatures hike demand for heating and air conditioning, respectively, and send prices rising as demand picks up in the nation's thermal power plants.
Bargain hunters also snapped up nicely priced positions in wake of Thursday's bearish supply data.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report on Thursday that natural gas storage in the U.S. in the week ended May 10 rose by 99 billion cubic feet, above expectations for an increase of 95 billion cubic feet.
Inventories rose by 30 billion cubic feet in the same week a year earlier, while the five-year average change for the week is a rise of 69 billion cubic feet.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 1.964 trillion cubic feet as of last week. Stocks were 694 billion cubic feet less than last year at this time and 83 billion cubic feet below the five-year average of 2.047 trillion cubic feet for this time of year.
The report showed that in the East Region, stocks were 105 billion cubic feet below the five-year average, following net injections of 55 billion cubic feet.
Stocks in the Producing Region were 29 billion cubic feet below the five-year average of 825 billion cubic feet after a net injection of 31 billion cubic feet.
Elsewhere on the NYMEX, light sweet crude oil futures for delivery in June were up 0.85% and trading at USD95.97 a barrel, while heating oil futures for June delivery were up 0.74% at USD2.9295 per gallon.
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Written By: Investing.com
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